GEDmatch DNA Solves Killer
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A story about how the Golden State Killer was finally caught through DNA genealogy databases.
"In the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, there was this guy who raped about 50 women and murdered around 20 people. He was a serial killer who got away with it for years. No one knew who it was.
Patton Oswalt's wife, right before she died, published her life's work about the Golden State Killer and how he'd never been caught. This renewed interest, and the FBI got involved because of all the press.
They used this public website called GEDmatch, which analyzes information from 23andMe, Ancestry, and other DNA databases. They put the killer's DNA into GEDmatch and discovered that either a daughter or granddaughter of the killer had recently signed up for 23andMe. They staked out this guy's house, dug through his garbage, and arrested him when he was in his 80s and dying.
Since then, they've caught many dozens, maybe even 100 killers or rapists this way. It's being used for good now, but it's kind of scary because there are thousands of internet detectives using this database to solve crimes. The DNA matching isn't perfect - it might say someone is 5% related to another person, so you have to track down distant cousins and build family trees to figure it out."
Sam Parr
Host of MFM and fitness influencer
Sam Parr is a serial entrepreneur and business media pioneer.
In 2016, he founded The Hustle, a business news media company that started in his kitchen with just $12 and grew to eight figures in revenue.
Sam led the charge in making newsletters popular when few believed in their potential.
After four successful years, he sold The Hustle to HubSpot, a publicly traded company. Now operating as HubSpot Media, The Hustle reaches 3 million readers daily, employs a team of nearly 100, and has been the launchpad for dozens of its staff to found their own media companies and newsletters.
Sam remains the host of the popular business podcast, My First Million, and continues to start and sell companies. He also co-founded Hampton, a highly vetted community for entrepreneurs, founders, and CEOs, and teaches people to write better through his platform, Copy That.