Suspect-Less Cases
DNA evidence is extremely important in solving suspect-less cases, which are often old, unsolved cases, usually referred to as cold cases.They may have remained unsolved because DNA evidence analysis was not available when the crime was committed, or the crime scene evidence was tested but failed to yield a suspect match.There is a difference between cold cases and cold hits. Cold cases, described above, are suspect-less cases often solved through DNA cold hits. “Cold” refers to the suspect-less nature of the case, regardless of its age.“Hits”
refer to any match of crime-scene DNA to a DNA profile of a known human being, usually from a DNA database.A cold hit can occur in a case of any age. Forensic DNA evidence databanks rely upon software that constantly compares profiles from crime scenes to profiles developed from people. As soon as crime-scene DNA data from a case of any age is entered into the database, the software rapidly searches for a match.
Content on this page has been excerpted from DNA Evidence Policy Considerations for the Prosecutor, published by the American Prosecutors Research Institute—the nonprofit research, training and technical assistance affiliate of the National District Attorneys' Association. This information is offered for educational purposes only and is not legal advice. This project was supported by Award No. 2002-DD-BX-0005, from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice.
