Crime, DNA, and Family: Protecting Genetic Privacy in the World of 23andMe
Victoria Romine* Full Article. Introduction In 2018, the capture of the “Golden State Killer,” also known as the “East Area Rapist” or the “Original Night Stalker,” captured the eyes of the nation.[1] The man responsible for at least thirteen murders and fifty rapes—crimes that many thought would never be solved—was taken into custody and charged with capital murder.[2] Why the sudden movement in a case that had been cold for over three decades? Joseph DeAngelo, the now-infamous serial killer, was definitively identified through DNA using a breakthrough new science: genetic genealogy.[3] At the time, the potential of this new method seemed boundless. The public began to speculate about how many cases could finally be resolved—even infamous cold cases that had haunted communities for decades.[4] The wait was short. Only two…