Episode 160 Robin Lawrence

In this shocking and heart-wrenching 1994 case, a young Northern Virginia mother is killed in her own in a vicious crime that shocked even seasoned members of law enforcement. Not only was the brutality breathtaking, but Robin’s 2 year old daughter was left with her mother’s corpse for two whole days. This case confounded Fairfax County police, because Robin had no enemies, yet the crime of passion clearly targeted her.  A prime suspect emerged whom police were convinced did it, only to be disappointed by DNA results.  It’s not an overstatement to say that were it not for IGG, the murder of Robin Lawrence would never have been solved.  Because the identity of the killer, and his reasons for slaying Robin, were simply impossible to believe.

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Episode 159 Doe ID Carl Bryant

Warning: this episode explicitly addresses child abuse and murder.

In 1972, the brutally beaten body of a young child was found in a shallow creek in Fairfax County, VA.  Little John Lorton Doe was unidentified and unclaimed, and was buried in a local cemetery by a church group.  Investigators over the decades never forgot the little boy, and when cold case detective Melissa Wallace took on the case, she used mere iotas of rootless hairs, cutting edge DNA technology, and IGG to identify him as four year old Carl Matthew Bryant.  But the story of Carl Bryant, killed at the hands of an abuser, became even more shocking when it was revealed that he was not the only one. 

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This is a special bonus episode based on breaking news.

Serial Killer Robert Eugene Brashers has been identified as the killer in the infamous 1991 Austin Yogurt Shop Murders in Austin, Texas. In that case, four teenage girls were shot execution style before the yogurt shop was set on fire. Killed in that case were 17 year old Jennifer Harbison, and her 15 year old sister Sarah Harbison. Also killed were 17 year old Eliza Thomas, and 13 year old Amy Ayers. DNA from the crime scene was connected to Robert Eugene Brashers who we covered back in episode 104 in the murders of Sherri and Megan Scherer and Genevieve Zitricki.

In this bonus episode, host Jessica Bettencourt breaks down how the Yogurt shop murders were connected to Brashers, and discusses a yet unrevealed victim he may be linked to in Kentucky. We will also replay the original Brashers episode here for listeners who may not have listened to it before, or want a refresher on just how brutal a predator Robert Eugene Brashers was. 

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Episode 158 Mary Schlais Part 2 of 2

This is part 2; the conclusion of the Mary Schlais case. If you have not listened to part 1 yet, please stop now and go back and listen to that first. 

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Episode 158 Mary Schlais Part 1 of 2

In one of the oldest cold case homicides solved by IGG, Mary Schlais’s shocking murder in Dunn County, WI was finally resolved.  Way back in 1974, a witness saw the killer disposing of Mary’s bloody body in a snowbank, and the killer dropped something at the scene… and yet, his identity eluded investigators for 50 years.  Dunn County investigators never gave up on Mary’s case, and when investigative genetic genealogy came along, they jumped at the opportunity, once and for all, to obtain justice for the bright, multi-lingual, artistic young equestrian who had her whole life ahead of her until it was snatched away with a few thrusts of a knife.  Finally, they had a name for the monster who stabbed Mary to death. And what they would hear from him was shocking.

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Episode 157 Doe ID: Darylnn Washington 

In 2006, a Jane Doe was found in a vacant home on the east side of Detroit.  Police efforts to identify her were in vain, but the name of her killer soon emerged as a slew of murdered women were all linked to one man – Shelly Andre Brooks. Brooks confessed to murdering Jane Doe, but what can be done when the killer never knew his victim’s name? The answer is – investigative genetic genealogy.  An IGG analysis pointed to a close family member of Jane Doe, and testing confirmed her name as Darylnn Washington. 

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Episode 156 Pam Conyers

 In one of the oldest cases covered by DNA: ID, in 1970, 16 year old Pam Conyers vanished after an evening trip to the Harundale Mall in Ann Arundel County, MD.  There was no question that Pam had run away, and police immediately began a search for the teen.  Two days after she left the mall with her purchase, her car was found hidden in brush in a wooded median of a new highway that was being constructed, not far from her home.  Soon, her body was found nearby.  Pam had been raped and murdered, and dumped in the woods not far from the construction site.  Clues discovered at her autopsy and in her car led police to theorize that there were two perpetrators.  Whoever they were, they eluded investigators for decades.  Finally, when the Parabon genealogist used IGG, she was able to identify a suspect.  And then the FBI stepped in an identified another. 

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Episode 155 Doe ID: Tisha Ann Dyer

In 2003, human skeletal remains were found in a very remote area of Mt. Hood, Oregon.  Not much was determined about the person the scant bones belonged to, other than she was a female.  The Hood River County Sheriff’s Office attempted to identify the remains by scouring the many missing person’s cases in the area, but was unable to give a name to the deceased.  In 2020, a Parabon phenotype analysis predicted that the Jane Doe had brown hair, fair skin, and green or hazel eyes.  The Parabon genealogist used IGG to identify the bones as belonging to Tisha Ann Dyer.  Tisha was last known to be living in Portland, and was last in contact with her family in 2002.  What happened to Tisha, and how did she end up on Mt. Hood? After two decades, Tisha finally has her name back and this is her story. 

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Episode 154 Roger Dean Part 2 of 2

This is part 2 of the Roger Dean case. If you have not listened to part 1 yet, please stop now, and go back and listen to part 1 first.

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Episode 154 Roger Dean Part 1 of 2

DNA: ID is back after summer hiatus with a doozy of a case!  On Thursday, November 21st, 1985, Roger Dean was seen by neighbors drinking his morning coffee in his garage.  The next thing they knew, Roger way lying in the cul de sac, shot to death.  His hysterical wife told a terrifying tale of a masked gunman, restraints, demands, a fight, gunshots.  After the dust settled, Roger’s wife and daughter ended up in police crosshairs.  They would be re-traumatized five years later when the killer resurfaced, trying to extort money from the grieving widow.  Even though witnesses had seen the gunman, and the FBI chased the extortionist all over Denver, he eluded authorities, and the case went cold.  But, the gunman had made a crucial mistake, leaving behind evidence that decades later would be used by a savvy law enforcement genealogist to identify him at long last. 

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