A 95-year-old skeleton, coined the “Sandy Point Skeleton,” has been identified, thanks to the advances in forensic investigative genetic genealogy (FIGG).
According to the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine (VIFM), the skeletal remains were discovered in 2017 by a snorkeler, on the ocean floor at the Shallow Inlet, Sandy Point, Victoria, Australia, without any tissue, clothing, or personal items.
Since there were no clues about his identity, Victoria Police reported the death to the coroner and transferred the remains to the Victorian Institute for Forensic Medicine (VIFM). Despite taxing efforts, previous genetic testing didn’t reveal his identity, although certain characteristics, such as his race, height, and age, were established.
The VIFM team subsequently partnered with Othram, a Texas-based business that combines “laboratory science, software, and process, to build a better and more robust infrastructure for justice.”
Dr. Kristen Mittelman, the Chief Development Officer with Othram, told CrimeOnline that their organization became involved after forensic evidence was sent to Othram’s laboratory in The Woodlands, Texas., where scientists then employed “Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing®” to help create a comprehensive DNA profile.
Mittelman explained that typical methods to obtain DNA for identity is generally not comprehensive enough to get a profile who someone who has been deceased and submerged at sea for over 90 years.
“Those methods were purposely built for medical samples or consumer samples,” Mittelman said, explaining the typical process used when obtaining DNA samples.
“You can’t do forensic genetic genealogy, and you can’t do the actual genealogy part until you have a profile that gives you matches and good matching. Unfortunately, most of the cases were failing at not being able to build this profile ’cause they were using medical and consumer samples, and actually all other companies are still doing so.
“What we did here at Othram is we built technology to be able to work with the most intractable evidence out there. It [the skull] was found in salt water and it has floated around salt water for 95 years. You can imagine the contamination, the degradation that takes place when DNA is exposed to those kind of elements for.”
After developing the DNA profile, it was returned to investigators, who uploaded it to genealogical databases, and with a match to a living relative, the skull was identified as that of Christopher Luke Moore, a Gippsland father and World War I veteran who drowned in the ocean in the 1920s.
“(Mr Moore) threw up his arms and disappeared under a big breaker and was never sighted again,” a police report from January 22, 1929, the Herald Sun reports.
Coronial records show that Moore was at Waratah Bay with his family when he encountered difficulties in the waves on December 30, 1928. Despite an attempt by a beachgoer to rescue him, the strong tide proved insurmountable, according to DNA Solves.
“It’s amazing because I think it shows that, just like with medical testing, you wouldn’t go to the doctor and get a test or get a treatment if there wasn’t a clear expectation that it, it could help you or it would give you a good result and,” Mittelman said.
“In forensics, there’s no one that has created the technology in a way that it’s predictive, robust, and scalable.”
Othram continues to assist with other cases, including a potential lead in the high-profile Long Island serial killer investigation. Last week, Othram helped identify the remains of Karen Vergata, a 34-year-old New York woman who vanished in 1996.
Part of her remains were found at Blue Point Beach in Suffolk County. Her skull was found at Gilgo Beach, where several other women, connected to accused Long Island serial killer, Rex Heuermann, were found.
So far, however, Vergata’s death has not been linked to Heuremann.
Gilgo Beach Investigators Identify ‘Jane Doe’ Whose Remains Were Found in 1996
Meanwhile, Mittelman says Othram continues to help with cases, in collaboration with law enforcement, “all over the globe,” including several other European countries and Canada.
Currently, Othram accepts cases when all other avenues have been exhausted, Mittelman said, adding that the case must have went through law enforcement first.
“We work with law enforcement directly,” she said. “The evidence has to be sent to us by law enforcement, and there’s a lot of reasons for that, but mostly because we need to make sure that it’s probative evidence and we’re working with something that we’re allowed to work with.”
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[Feature Photo: Christopher Luke Moore via Othram]
