John Lopes, un investigador de la escena del crimen para la oficina del alguacil de Sacramento, lleva cajas de pruebas tomadas de la casa del sospechoso de asesinato Joseph DeAngelo al vehículo de un alguacil el jueves, 26 de abril 2018, en Citrus Heights, Calif. DeAngelo, 72, fue detenido el martes bajo sospecha de haber cometido múltiples homicidios y violaciones en las décadas de 1970 y 1980 en California. Las autoridades pasaron el día revisando la casa en busca de pruebas. (Foto AP / Rich Pedroncelli)
Los investigadores que utilizaron un sitio web genealógico para encontrar al ex policía que creen que es un misterioso asesino en serie y violador que aterrorizó a California hace décadas llaman a la técnica innovadora.
Pero otros dicen que genera inquietantes preocupaciones legales y de privacidad para los millones de personas que envían su ADN a dichos sitios para descubrir su herencia.
No existen leyes de privacidad estrictas para evitar que la policía rastree las bases de datos de sitios de ascendencia, dijo Steve Mercer, el abogado jefe de la división forense de la Oficina del Defensor Público de Maryland.
"Las personas que envían ADN para pruebas de antepasados se están convirtiendo sin saberlo en informantes genéticos de su familia inocente, "Mercer dijo, y agregó que "tienen menos protecciones de privacidad que los delincuentes condenados cuyo ADN está contenido en bancos de datos regulados".
Joseph James DeAngelo, 72, fue arrestado el martes después de que los investigadores compararan el ADN de la escena del crimen con material genético almacenado por un pariente lejano en un sitio en línea. Desde allí, lo redujeron al abuelo del área de Sacramento usando ADN obtenido del material que él había descartado, Dijo la fiscal de distrito del condado de Sacramento, Anne Marie Schubert.
Las autoridades se negaron a nombrar el sitio en línea. Sin embargo, dos de los más grandes, Ancestry.com y 23andMe, dijo el jueves que no estaban involucrados en el caso.
T. Abbott, izquierda, y John Lopes, Derecha, de la oficina de investigación de la escena del crimen del Sheriff del Condado de Sacramento, conferencia sobre cajas de pruebas reunidas en la casa del sospechoso de asesinato Joseph DeAngelo, Jueves, 26 de abril 2018, en Citrus Heights, Calif. DeAngelo, 72, fue detenido el martes bajo sospecha de haber cometido múltiples homicidios y violaciones en las décadas de 1970 y 1980 en California. Las autoridades pasaron el día revisando la casa en busca de pruebas. (Foto AP / Rich Pedroncelli)
El ADN potencialmente pudo haber jugado un papel anterior en el caso. Estaba comenzando a usarse como una herramienta de investigación criminal en 1986 cuando el depredador conocido como el Violador del Área Este y el Asesino del Estado Dorado aparentemente puso fin a su ola de ataques de una década.
DeAngelo, un ex oficial de policía, probablemente habría sabido sobre el nuevo método, dijeron los expertos.
"Conocía las técnicas policiales, ", dijo Louis Schlesinger, profesor del John Jay College of Criminal Justice." Era inteligente ".
Nadie que conociera a DeAngelo durante décadas lo relacionó con la serie de al menos una docena de asesinatos, 50 violaciones y decenas de robos entre 1976 y 1986 en todo el estado.
John Lopes, un investigador de la escena del crimen de la oficina del alguacil de Sacramento recoge bolsas de pruebas tomadas de la casa del sospechoso de asesinato Joseph DeAngelo para colocarlas en el vehículo del alguacil el jueves, 26 de abril 2018, en Citrus Heights, Calif. DeAngelo, 72, fue puesto bajo custodia, Martes, bajo sospecha de haber cometido múltiples homicidios y violaciones en las décadas de 1970 y 1980 en California. Las autoridades pasaron el día revisando la casa en busca de pruebas. (Foto AP / Rich Pedroncelli)
Después de que fue identificado como el sospechoso, sin embargo, Los fiscales se apresuraron a acusarlo de ocho asesinatos.
Además, La policía de la ciudad agrícola de Visalia, en el centro de California, dijo el jueves que DeAngelo es sospechoso de un decimotercer homicidio y de unos 100 robos en la zona.
En 1975, del maestro de colegio comunitario Claude Snelling recibió un disparo mientras intentaba evitar que un intruso enmascarado secuestrara a su hija de 16 años de su casa.
Los investigadores carecían de pruebas de ADN, por lo que la muerte de Snelling y los robos no se incluyeron en el recuento de crímenes de Golden State Killer, pero las huellas dactilares y las huellas de los zapatos se revisarán para detectar coincidencias con DeAngelo. Dijo el jefe de policía de Visalia, Jason Salazar.
Esta foto de las fuerzas del orden público sin fecha proporcionada por el condado de Sacramento, Calif., La oficina del alguacil muestra a Joseph James DeAngelo. DeAngelo, Un presunto asesino en serie de California que cometió al menos 12 homicidios y 45 violaciones en todo el estado en las décadas de 1970 y 1980 fue identificado el miércoles. 25 de abril 2018, como ex oficial de policía, dijo un funcionario. (Oficina del Sheriff del Condado de Sacramento vía AP)
Los investigadores registraron la casa de DeAngelo el jueves, buscando anillos de clase, aretes, platos y otros artículos que se tomaron de la escena del crimen, así como armas.
Mientras tanto, Vecinos de DeAngelo, familiares y antiguos conocidos dicen que no tenían ni idea de que pudiera ser un asesino en serie. Trabajó casi tres décadas en un almacén de supermercado del área de Sacramento como mecánico de camiones, jubilarse el año pasado. Como vecino era conocido por cuidar meticulosamente su césped en los suburbios de Citrus Heights.
DeAngelo trabajó como oficial de policía en la ciudad agrícola de Exeter, no lejos de Visalia, de 1973 a 1976.
DeAngelo era una "oveja negra" que no bromeaba con otros oficiales, dijo Farrel Ward, 75, que sirvió en la fuerza con DeAngelo.
Un automóvil sale del garaje de una casa registrada en relación con el arresto de un hombre bajo sospecha de asesinato, Miércoles, 25 de abril 2018, en Citrus Heights, Calif. La Oficina del Fiscal de Distrito del Condado de Sacramento planea hacer un anuncio importante en el caso de un asesino en serie que, según dicen, cometió al menos 12 homicidios. 45 violaciones y docenas de robos en California en las décadas de 1970 y 1980. (Foto AP / Rich Pedroncelli)
Ward dijo que es posible que DeAngelo ayudó con la búsqueda del asesino de Snelling y el ladrón esquivo, pero no recuerda que DeAngelo haya investigado directamente el asesinato.
"He estado pensando, pero no hay ningún indicio de que algo estuviera mal, " Ward said. "How could you just go out and kill somebody and go back and go to work? I don't understand that."
Más tarde, DeAngelo joined the Auburn Police Department outside of Sacramento but was fired in 1979 after he was caught shoplifting a hammer and dog repellant.
Investigators say they have linked DeAngelo to 11 killings that occurred after he was fired.
This undated photo released by the FBI shows artist renderings of a serial killer and rapist, also known as the "East Area Rapist" and "Golden State Killer" from 1976 to 1986. A California sheriff said Joseph James DeAngelo, a former police officer accused of being a serial killer and rapist, was taken by surprise when deputies swooped in and arrested him Tuesday, 24 de abril 2018, as he stepped out of his home. (FBI via AP)
James Huddle said he always hoped police would catch the killer whose attacks prompted him to buy a pistol.
But he was stunned to find out the man arrested was DeAngelo, his former brother-in-law.
Huddle said it was "still just going crazy in my mind."
This undated photo released by the FBI shows part of East Area Rapist Crime reports at the Sheriff's department evidence room in Sacramento, Calif. Volumes of reports about the murder investigation are contained in the evidence room at the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department. A California sheriff said Joseph James DeAngelo, a former police officer accused of being a serial killer and rapist, was taken by surprise when deputies swooped in and arrested him Tuesday, 24 de abril 2018, as he stepped out of his home. (FBI via AP)
A look at DNA testing that ID'd a suspected serial killer
Joseph James DeAngelo, who authorities suspect is the so-called Golden State Killer responsible for at least a dozen murders and 50 rapes in the 1970s and 80s, was arrested more than three decades after the last killing with the help of information from an online genealogical site. Investigators haven't disclosed many key elements about how and why they took this very unusual step to find a suspect.
Here's a look at the case and some of the questions surrounding it:
HOW DID AUTHORITIES IDENTIFY HIM?
The Sacramento County district attorney's office said Thursday DNA from one of the crime scenes was checked against genetic profiles from genealogical websites that collect DNA samples to help people learn about their family backgrounds.
Authorities zeroed in on DeAngelo after determining one of his relatives whose genetic information was on the site was a familial match for the DNA from the crime scene.
They then set up surveillance at DeAngelo's home in Citrus Heights, California, just outside Sacramento and collected two "discarded DNA samples" from him. One didn't contain enough DNA but the other tied him to the DNA evidence.
Authorities did not identify the DNA websites that were used.
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IS THAT LEGAL?
Ancestry.com and 23andMe, two of the largest companies that produce genetic profiles for customers who provide DNA samples, say they don't cooperate with law enforcement unless they receive a court order.
Both said Thursday they did not receive a court order in the DeAngelo case and were not otherwise involved.
Ancestry.com has said it hasn't received any such requests for genetic information in the last three years.
A 23andMe spokesman said the company "has never given customer information to law enforcement officials" and that their platform doesn't allow for the comparison of genetic data that was processed by any third party.
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HAS THIS EVER BEEN DONE BEFORE?
The issue of law enforcement comparing DNA to samples in genealogical databases garnered national attention several years ago when a New Orleans filmmaker was identified in an Idaho murder based on a DNA sample that his father had given years earlier.
As part of a church-sponsored genealogy project, the man's father had provided his DNA, which was later sold to Ancestry.com.
The company was required to identify the man to police after receiving a court order. But he was eventually cleared after his DNA didn't match the evidence at the crime scene.
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WHAT IS THE DNA TEST THAT INVESTIGATORS USED IN THAT CASE?
The technique is known as familial DNA testing and it has raised ethical issues in the forensics community. Typically with the method, investigators search law enforcement databases to identify likely relatives of the person who may have committed the crime.
Critics say that familial DNA testing allows for searches of innocent people who happen to be related to someone suspected of committing a crime or otherwise provided their DNA for inclusion in a database. Law enforcement officials have argued the technique can provide investigators with valuable leads.
En 2008, California became the first state in the country to authorize the testing. It since has been used in at least eight other states.
The method led to the arrest of Lonnie Franklin Jr. in the Los Angeles "Grim Sleeper" serial killings from 1985 to 2007. Los Angeles County sheriff's officials also used it last year to solve the decades-old killing of the ex-wife of Righteous Brothers singer Bill Medley.
This undated photo released by the FBI shows a sketch and details of a stolen ring the attacker who became known as the East Area Rapist took from one of his victims. Authorities said the attacker ransacked homes and took coins, jewelry and identification. Joseph James DeAngelo, once sworn to protect the public from crime, was accused Wednesday, 25 de abril 2018, of living a double life terrorizing suburban neighborhoods at night, becoming one of California's most feared serial killers and rapists in the 1970s and '80s before leaving a cold trail that baffled investigators for more than three decades. (FBI via AP)
Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones discusses the arrest of Joseph James DeAngelo for a string of violent crimes in the 1970's and 1980's, at a news conference, Miércoles, 25 de abril 2018, en Sacramento, Calif. DeAngelo, 72, was taken into custody at his suburban Sacramento home, Martes, on suspicion of committing at least 12 slayings and 45 rapes in California.(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
In this undated photo released by the FBI shows East Area Rapist Ski Masks in Sacramento, Calif. A California sheriff says a former police officer accused of being a serial killer and rapist was taken by surprise when deputies swooped in and arrested him as he stepped out of his home. Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones said deputies planned to arrest Joseph DeAngelo when he left his home on Tuesday, 24 de abril 2018. (FBI via AP)
This undated photo released by the FBI shows a home invasion ransacking by an attacker who became known as the "East Area Rapist" at an unknown location in California. Authorities said the attacker ransacked the home and took coins, jewelry and identification. Joseph James DeAngelo, once sworn to protect the public from crime, was accused Wednesday, 25 de abril 2018, of living a double life terrorizing suburban neighborhoods at night, becoming one of California's most feared serial killers and rapists in the 1970s and '80s before leaving a cold trail that baffled investigators for more than three decades. (FBI via AP)
John Lopes, a crime scene investigator for the Sacramento County Sheriff's office, carries boxes of evidence taken from the home of murder suspect Joseph DeAngelo to a sheriff's vehicle Thursday, 26 de abril 2018, in Citrus Heights, Calif. DeAngelo, 72, was taken into custody Tuesday on suspicion of committing multiple homicides and rapes in the 1970s and 1980s in California. Authorities spent the day going through the home for evidence. (Foto AP / Rich Pedroncelli)
Sacramento Sheriff's deputies carry evidence taken from the home of suspect Joseph DeAngelo to a sheriff's vehicle Thursday, 26 de abril 2018, in Citrus Heights, Calif. DeAngelo was taken into custody, Martes, on suspicion of committing multiple slayings and dozens of rapes in the 1970's and 1980's in California. (Foto AP / Rich Pedroncelli)
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