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How DNA Solved A 30 Year Old Cold Case #truecrimeinvestigation #coldcase #crimejunkies #podcast

April 29, 2026 / 02:40

This episode covers five types of DNA testing used in criminal investigations, focusing on investigative genetic genealogy (IGG) and its role in solving cold cases.

The discussion begins with IGG, which combines forensic DNA analysis with traditional genealogy to identify suspects or remains. A key case highlighted is the murder of April Marie Tinsley, an 8-year-old girl who was kidnapped and murdered in 1988.

In Tinsley's case, biological evidence was collected but could not be tested effectively at the time. It wasn't until 2018 that investigators retested the sample and uploaded it to GEDmatch, a public DNA database.

Genealogist CeCe Moore played a crucial role in identifying the suspect, John D. Miller, through family tree mapping. Investigators collected his DNA from discarded items to confirm his identity.

Miller pled guilty to the murder and was sentenced to 80 years in prison, showcasing the impact of advanced DNA testing in achieving justice.

TLDR

Investigative genetic genealogy helped solve the cold case of April Marie Tinsley's murder through advanced DNA testing.

Episode

2:40
00:00:00
So, now I'm breaking down five powerful types of DNA testing that investigators use to solve crimes and sharing the real
00:00:07
cases where those tests uncovered the truth. Starting [music] off with number five. Investigative genetic genealogy or
00:00:15
IGG. You probably heard a lot about IGG in recent years. But what is it exactly? Investigative
00:00:22
genetic genealogy brings forensic DNA analysis together with traditional genealogy to develop leads in criminal
00:00:29
investigations or to identify unidentified human remains. Investigative genetic genealogists or
00:00:35
members of law enforcement can upload DNA profiles from a crime scene or from remains to certain genetic genealogy
00:00:43
databases. And from there, they work on identifying genetic relatives of the person whose DNA they have and build out
00:00:50
a family tree with that data. After the family tree has been built out, police potentially look to obtain a DNA sample
00:00:56
from someone in that family tree to compare against the original sample. One notable case that has been solved in
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part thanks to IGG is the murder of April Marie Tinsley. April was just 8 years old when she was kidnapped,
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sexually assaulted, and murdered in the spring [music] of 1988. Biological evidence was collected at the
00:01:17
scene, but sampling and testing protocols weren't advanced enough yet to solve the case. But by the early 2000s,
00:01:23
investigators were finally able to pull a DNA profile from the sample and upload
00:01:29
it [music] to CODIS. But no matches were immediately found. That meant that it was likely that the perpetrator's DNA
00:01:34
had never been uploaded to the CODIS database in connection [music] to any other crimes.
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So, the case sat cold until 2018, when investigators retested the sample that they had to get a profile suitable for
00:01:48
GEDmatch, which is a public opt-in DNA database. Seriously, anyone, including you, can upload DNA to GEDmatch. From
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there, genealogist CeCe Moore used family tree mapping to identify John D. Miller, who had lived not too far from
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April at the time of her murder. Investigators knew Miller probably wouldn't turn over his DNA sample for
00:02:09
direct comparison [music] willingly. So, they collected his abandoned DNA by obtaining used condoms from his trash.
00:02:17
Then, when they did a direct comparison to the sample they had in April's case, they found out [music] it was indeed
00:02:23
their guy. In 2018, John Miller pled guilty to murder and child molestation [music] in connection with April's
00:02:29
killing. He was sentenced to 80 years in prison. So, though it took some time and
00:02:34
technological advances, DNA led to justice for April.

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Episode Highlights

  • The Murder of April Marie Tinsley
    April was kidnapped and murdered in 1988, with her case remaining cold for decades. Advances in DNA testing finally brought justice in 2018.
    “DNA led to justice for April.”
    @ 02m 37s
    April 29, 2026

Episode Quotes

  • DNA led to justice for April.
    How DNA Solved A 30 Year Old Cold Case #truecrimeinvestigation #coldcase #crimejunkies #podcast

Key Moments

  • IGG Explained00:12
  • Cold Case Breakthrough01:39
  • Justice Served02:37

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