00:00:00
investigators used DNA from a tree we've been talking about this all morning to help solve a crime it happened after a
00:00:06
young mother from Missouri disappeared three years ago 48 Hours correspondent Peter Van Sant shows how investigators
00:00:12
used an unlikely clue to bring her killer to Justice [Applause] on October 10 2019 23 year old Joseph
00:00:26
ellage reported his wife mungshi ji missing so you said that uh took her purse with her right yeah at the time
00:00:34
Dan Knight was the prosecuting attorney in Missouri's Boone County Joe ellich said that on October 8th he'd
00:00:43
gone to sleep with monkey at about 11 11 30 or so and then he woke up the next morning and then he noticed that monk
00:00:52
she was gone vanished initially ellage told police and CBS affiliate krcg that he believed his wife may have left him
00:01:02
and their one-year-old daughter for another man I know she was talking to somebody else on the side and whatever
00:01:10
she's doing I just hope she's safe Joe ellage's attorney Scott Rosenbloom he actually discovered that she was
00:01:18
involved in an online relationship how did he find out he went on her one of her devices and started reading it we
00:01:26
were trying our best to leave no Stones Unturned there were a lot of stones police
00:01:33
searched the couple's apartment and found some puzzling evidence including this muddy pair of Joe ellij's boots
00:01:40
taken into evidence on a hunch just in case down the road they might be relevant something was amiss yes and
00:01:49
they they sensed it eledge's boots did become relevant thanks to several juniper tree needles stuck to the souls
00:01:58
and these needles where did they come from we had three needles that came from that tree right there
00:02:05
I thought it d-a from these juniper trees helped solve this crime I've never heard of
00:02:11
anything like this before in my entire career at 48 hours Peter Van sand joins us now Peter wait
00:02:19
wait so the Buick had the needle needle and the needles were from that tree yes why was that important well
00:02:27
juniper trees are one of the few on Earth that have a unique DNA profile just like human beings each tree has its
00:02:34
own profile so when they discovered this shallow grave out there in this Grove of
00:02:38
juniper trees and we go out with a scientist from Missouri Botanical Garden he has a special tool they took samples
00:02:45
they got some of these needles did their DNA test and then tested against those muddy boots that you saw because there
00:02:51
were some needles on that perfect match oh wow and so it's just like having blood evidence DNA about you they had
00:02:58
they had him he was at the gravesite which forced the defense to change their story about not just a juniper tree that
00:03:05
that that's the keep it specific really cool I've never heard anything like this
00:03:09
Peter Van Sant thank you very much no we have not you can see Peter's full report
00:03:13
the tree that helped solve a murder on 48 hours tomorrow night at 10 9 Central right here on CBS and on our streaming
00:03:19
service Paramount Plus