DNA home testing kits helping crack Minnesota’s unsolved crimes

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How DNA home testing kits are helping crack Minnesota’s unsolved crimes

A swab of the cheek and a home DNA kit can help you build your family tree – but that same method can also unlock decades-old secrets to crack cold cases, identify victims and even catch killers. According to data provided by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), genetic genealogy has been tried in at least 23 cases. So far, the method has helped solve at least five unidentified person cases and at least four homicide cases.

Genetic genealogy may seem complicated, but the idea is straightforward. If you want to identify your victim or perhaps even a suspect and all you have in the DNA, you can upload that genetic information to certain public DNA databanks like GED Match.

From there, you can search for family matches, working your way from extended family to closer ones like parents in hopes of identifying your target.

One example is how genetic genealogy played a key role in solving the 1993 murder of Jeanne Childs, who was stabbed to death inside her Minneapolis apartment.

The trail went cold until 25 years later when DNA collected at the crime scene was run through new public genealogy databases, which pointed to Jerry Westrom.

By the time Westrom was brought in for questioning, investigators had already tailed him at a hockey game in Wisconsin, where he trashed a used napkin. The napkin became a key piece of DNA evidence that ultimately led to Westrom’s conviction for the murder of Childs.

Catch Up Quick 

👮 A convicted murderer is on the run this week, and authorities believe he could be armed with a high-powered rifle. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and Windom Police Department are looking for Ralph Apmann after he skipped out on his trial while out on bail.

🚨 Minneapolis police say two people were killed, and one seriously injured, in two different shootings just blocks apart Wednesday night.

❄️ The deadline to remove ice houses from Lake Minnetonka is March 6, but Hennepin County deputies warned anglers not to wait until then. With the melting and refreezing cycles, the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office said ice houses could become stuck on the ice. Deputies said over the last several days, they’ve responded to multiple incidents of vehicles going through the ice.

Displaced Bell Lofts families on verge of homelessness

Almost two months after a flood related to the sprinkler system at a north Minneapolis apartment building displaced approximately 21 tenants, only about half have found permanent housing, and now the remaining group of nine families is facing the possibility of homelessness. 

Steve Yang, his wife and their five children, who range in age from newborn through 12 years old, are among the group of former Bell Lofts tenants currently staying at the TownePlace Suites hotel in Minneapolis while they look for new housing. 

Like other residents, Vang was under the impression that the cost of their hotel stay has been taken care of by a group of nonprofits that have been involved in helping residents, including The Minneapolis Foundation, Pillsbury United Communities, and It Takes a Village, a small local nonprofit. 

But this week, he learned from hotel staff that there is a large unpaid bill, and the residents, including five other families with children, will have to leave by Saturday.  

Mayor Jacob Frey’s office tells us the city is open to conversations about improving protocols after emergencies.

The landlords say they’re working with everyone who’s trying to help the former residents. They also hope to get Bell Lofts back open for tenants, but they don’t have a timeline.

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