NEW YORK STATE (WRGB) — A Texas-based DNA lab helped get answers in two New York state cold cases this week.
One was the case of Nassau County resident Barbara Waldman, who was found murdered in her Oceanside home on January 11, 1974. The case was investigated and a composite sketch was released. Over the following years, investigators ruled out several potential suspects, but no viable suspects were identified and the case went cold.
In 2024, investigators brought their forensic evidence to Othram, a DNA lab that has created a forensic database in part through members of the public contributing their DNA data, which is used solely to aid in investigations and help solve cold cases. Othram developed a DNA profile for the suspect and delivered it to the FBI’s forensic genetic genealogy team. The FBI was able to generate new leads, which resulted in them identifying Thomas Generazio, who had lived a few blocks away from Waldman and worked as a sanitation worker, as the suspect. Generazio died in 2004…