Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced a joint statewide partnership to help law enforcement agencies solve 21,000 state cold cases dating back decades using advanced forensic DNA testing and genetic genealogy while speaking in Miami this week.
“For too long, many victims and their families have been left without answers,” Uthmeier said in a statement. “Our partnership with Othram will add an invaluable tool to our proactive approach for solving cold cases. We hope this effort brings answers and some measure of closure to those who have waited years.”
According to the attorney general, the state will partner with Othram, a forensic technology company specializing in human identification, to look over three homicides in the state dating back to the 1970s. Moreover, the collaboration intends to offer new leads through modern DNA analysis otherwise unavailable at the time to help solve the following cases.
- 1970s murder case in Broward and Miami-Dade Counties
- Early 1980s homicide in Central Florida
- Late 2000s double homicide involving a victim found in Miami Gardens
"These cases remained unsolved not because the evidence wasn't there, but because the technology didn't exist to interpret it," Othram Founder David Mittelman said. "By combining CODIS with advanced DNA-based identity inference, Florida is enabling investigators to generate leads without a suspect or database match, identifying offenders and delivering answers and justice for families."
Florida's 21,000 unsolved murder cases include 900 cases with unidentified human remains.
Similar to the above, Othran could help solve those cases using complete or partial DNA evidence to generate investigative leads through forensic genetic genealogy, and possibly bring some sense of closure to the victims' families.
Along with homicides, the state also intends to use DNA technology to help solve serial sexual battery cases.
"I am proud to stand with Attorney General Uthmeier and our law enforcement partners as we take another meaningful step forward in cracking open cold cases and delivering the justice that victims deserve," Sen. Ana Maria Rodriuez (R-Doral) said. "We owe it to every victim, every family, and every community to pursue the truth - no matter how much time has passed. Because justice matters. Accountability matters. And closure matters."
