Could new DNA testing method solve Morgan Harrington's murder?

Familial DNA testing is being evaluated in Richmond

it could be used by the end of the year

March 07, 2011|Chris Hurst | Reporter

ROANOKE, Va. — It could solve one of the highest profile murders in our area, it's already helped to find one serial killer. It's called familial DNA testing and Virginia could start using it by the end of the year.

Each time DNA evidence is collected at crime scenes police look for direct matches in state and national criminal databases. Now partial matches can be found, and that match could be the person you're looking for.

Less than two months ago, Dan and Gil Harrington visited their daughter's crime scene near Charlottesville for the first time. It's been more than a year since Morgan Harrington's body was found, but no one has been arrested for the crime. They hope a new technology in Virginia could solve the case.

“With familial DNA the yield may be low but we need all the help we can get in solving this,” says Dan Harrington.

Familial DNA testing takes evidence and tries to find partial matches to DNA left at the scene. Normally only exact matches can lead to suspects. But take a partial match in a database, and investigators can look at other family members.

“Parents will share half their DNA with their children,” says Brad Jenkins with the Virginia Department of Forensic Science. “So if you find a DNA profile that’s very similar that may suggest it came from one of their family members.”

The testing has already led to the capture of the suspected Grim Sleeper serial killer in Los Angeles. California and Colorado are the only two states to use familial DNA. The Virginia Crime Commission says the commonwealth can too, without any new laws. Martinsville delegate Ward Armstrong is on the commission.

“The technology is amazing,” he says. “If we can use it for a legit purpose, in this case fighting crime, absolutely we should do it.”

The Department of Forensic Science is testing the software in Richmond. Scientists hope to be able to use it by the end of the year and Morgan Harrington's murder might be one of the first cases it helps solve.

“The technology exists, let’s start using it,” says Gil Harrington. “Lets’ put it in the hands of law enforcement in this state.”

The technology comes with concerns over privacy. the American Civil Liberties Union or ACLU says using partial hits to get DNA samples is an invasion of privacy. Lawmakers in Richmond disagree. They say it would be a minimal invasion to possibly be the only thing to solve a crime.

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