KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) – A Texas DNA lab has solved 18 cold cases in East Tennessee and more than 600 nationwide using technology unavailable anywhere else.
Othram, a Houston-based forensic lab, uses what it calls “identity inference” and “forensic grade genome sequencing” to identify unknown victims and suspects. The company said it remains the only lab in the world with this capability.
The lab is working with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation on the state’s Unidentified Human Remains Initiative. Each case costs about $13,000 to solve.
How the technology works
Othram uses forensic genetic genealogy, comparing DNA structures to ancestral DNA databases to build family trees and make identifications…