At one of the most emotional times in a person's life, they may not be thinking that a DNA sample of a deceased loved one should be collected or stored.  The surviving families first thoughts are probably, what will happen to me?  How will my family get through this tragedy?  Are my children going to be taken care of?  How will the services be paid for?  What funeral home should we use?  Whether the passing of a loved one is expected due to advanced age or chronic illness or if the passing of a loved one is unexpected, as in an accident or unexpected illness - the thought of taking a DNA profile of the deceased loved one is probably not part of the usual grieving process. 

However, after all is said and done, families are finding that they lack documentation or paperwork in order to participate in the benefits set up by the deceased.  Proof of a biological relationship whether it be between a child, parent, sibling or grandparents is easily confirmed through non-invasive DNA testing.  Having access to the deceased DNA profile often becomes the obstacle in obtaining survivor benefits. 

In the case, where the deceased DNA is not readily available, proof of biological relationships can be obtained via FTA Blood Stain Cards usually collected by a Medical Examiner's office.  Often times, other family members may have to submit to the DNA test in order to prove the biological relationship. 

Example: 

A single man dies and leaves 3 children but never signed an Acknowledgement of Paternity during his lifetime.  The mother of the 3 children can ask a male relative of the deceased to submit to a DNA test (which are usually non-invasive buccal swabs) and that DNA can then be compared to the surviving children in order to prove the biological relationship exists.  If the children are all male - it is easier since they will carry the same Y-Chromosome.

Grandparents, aunts and uncles can be used to establish family relationships as well. 

If it is known at the time of death, that proof is needed, a funeral home can arrange for a DNA collection of the deceased with permission of the next of kin.  Funeral directors, managers, doctors and spiritual advisers should all be aware of the family's circumstances and if a DNA test would help them avoid delay in receiving benefits.  Those closest to the deceased may not be thinking of all the details and so it is encumbent on those around the family to help and provide guidance on these issues. 

CBS show 48 Hours | Mystery used the expert services of a DNA testing facility in the United States to determine whether a bone sample belonged to a U.S. Marine, Mr. Earl Bourdeau. Mr. Bourdeau was presumed murdered and buried in the Philippines in 1987.

The murder mystery entitled "Conspiracy to Kill", broadcast on January 30, 2009, centered on a woman named Sonia Rios. Ms. Rios had two husbands' whose lives ended abruptly at the hands of unknown gunmen.

Families of both men had been unable to recover the remains, until the 48 Hours investigation revealed a possible burial place for Mr. Bourdeau. Mitochondrial DNA testing was used to establish a biological relationship between Dennis Bourdeau, a living sibling of Mr. Earl Bourdeau. More than 20 years after Earl left to find adventure in the Philippines, he was finally laid to rest in his hometown of Davenport, Iowa.

Mitochondrial DNA is passed down from a mother to all of her children. Y-DNA is passed from father to son only. Brothers and sisters would therefore share the same mitochondrial DNA. Mitochondrial DNA testing and Y-Chromosome testing are available to the average consumer today due in part to advances in technology and ability to collect samples via buccal swab. A fast growing hobby of many North Americans is genealogy which uses the technology of mtDNA and YDNA analyses to categorize DNA into haplogroups to determine your ancestral origins.

God Bless and Thank You to all of our Armed Services and their families for the sacrifice they are making for our country.

Having  Properly Accredited Private Laboratories assist authorities on DNA Collection and Analysis

In the New York and New Jersey area alone, over a period of approximately 10 years, had DNA samples been collected and analyzed by authorities more than 30 rapes, robberies, sexual assaults or deaths could have been prevented if laboratories were not backlogged, if DNA was collected and perpetrators identified after the first offense rather than after the 13^th offense.

This report was prepared by Smith Alling Lane in partnership with Washington State University through the support of a grant awarded by the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice (Grant 2002-LT-BX-K 003). Points of view or opinions in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the United States Department of Justice

THREE PREVENTABLE RAPES

In mid-May 1998, a woman was raped at a public library in Essex County. One month later, a second woman was raped in a library. DNA samples were taken from both cases and loaded into the DNA database, where it was discovered that the two rapes were linked. Importantly, in matching these cases to each other, DNA also excluded two men being held by police as possible suspects.

In late June of 1998, a child was abducted and raped. A DNA sample was collected and sent to a private laboratory for testing, and the victim provided a description of the attacker to police.

The police eventually identified a suspect, and DNA testing subsequently tied him to the child attack. After the sample was loaded into the state database, it was discovered that the same offender was the library rapist. Additionally, the same DNA profile was eventually matched to an October 1999 rape in New York City.

The offender had a prior felony arrest on a weapons possession charge. The charge was later reduced to a misdemeanor crime to which the offender pled guilty. If a DNA sample had been required of felony charges that result in misdemeanor convictions, the perpetrator couldhave been identified after the first rape,thereby preventing the following three rapes.

SEVEN PREVENTABLE ROBBERIES, FIVE PREVENTABLE RAPES

In October of 2002, the first in a series of ten robberies began. The incidents included seven aggravated sexual assaults, spanned four months and included victims in at least nine different New Jersey cities.

A person known to the police became a strong suspect in the first offense, and a DNA sample was collected from him four days later. A DNA match was finally made in January of 2003 to the third offense, but only after a unit commander requested expedited testing of the evidence.

The offender in question was convicted in the 1980's on federal felony robberies charges, and was released from a federal prison in 1999. Unfortunately, the federal government did not begin requiring DNA from felony robbery convictions until 2000. Moreover, law enforcement had custody of all the DNA information that they needed to arrest this offender within only a few weeks of the first offense. The omission of his DNA from the federalDNA database, along with the backlog delay in processing DNA evidence, allowed the offender to remain on the streets. With stronger federal statutes and shorter DNA testing delays, the perpetrator could have been identified after the third attack, thereby preventing

the subsequent seven robberies and five rapes.

FOUR PREVENTABLE RAPES

Between April of 2002 and May of 2003, five women were raped in the Trenton area. DNA testing linked all five offenses to the same unknown perpetrator. After police released a composite sketch of the suspect in 2003, nearly 75 tips were called in identifying the same person. In June 2003, U.S. Marshals eventually arrested the suspect in Pennsylvania on a parole violation warrant that was issued in July of 2002. Trenton Police obtained a DNA sample from the suspect through a court order, and thanks to expedited testing at the state laboratory the man was linked to the crimes within a few days. The charges on 16 counts

involving five victims are pending as the suspect awaits extradition to New Jersey from Pennsylvania.

The suspect's criminal record included two felony convictions for theft and forgery related offenses in New Jersey, and nine felony convictions for theft, forgery, and receiving stolen property in Pennsylvania. If the suspect had been required to give a DNA sample for any of these crimes in either state, he could have been identified after the first assault, thereby preventing the subsequent four rapes.

THIRTEEN PREVENTABLE RAPES

In August of 1993 a young woman was raped in the Bronx in what was to be the first of up to 51 rapes attributed to the same offender over a five-year period. The perpetrator was dubbed the "Bronx Rapist" by the media. A person known to the police became a suspect when he was identified in a transaction involving a victim's jewelry at a pawnshop. He was arrested and subsequent DNA testing linked him to several of the rapes. He has been convicted on fourteen counts of rape in the Bronx, six counts of sexual abuse, nineteen counts of robbery, and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon.He has been sentenced to two life sentences.

This offender had a prior conviction in 1989 for felony robbery and assault, for which he received a seven-year sentence. If the State of New York had begun requiring DNA from all convicted felons in 1990 this offender would have been on the DNA database prior to the first rape in 1993, and at least thirteen rapes could have been prevented. Moreover, when New York's database was established in 1994, an inclusion of all convicted felons and retroactive application to persons previously convicted but still under supervision would have captured this offender's DNA sample much earlier in the investigation.

TWO PREVENTABLE SEXUAL ASSAULTS, ONE PREVENTABLE DEATH

From 1991 to 1999, three young women were murdered in New York City and four others were raped. The youngest victim was 13, and several of the crimes were noted for their brutality. During the course of the investigation, police identified a man who had just been released from jail for a sex crime in the same area in which a victim had been raped. He had been seen in the neighborhood just before and after the rape, and was picked out of a lineup. The man was jailed for four months, but DNA testing subsequently eliminated the man as a suspect.

Another person known to the police became a suspect in these crimes in 1999 and was placed under surveillance by police. He was eventually arrested on petty theft charges and DNA testing later linked him to evidence from the crimes. This person had been released from custody pending the DNA testing, and was arrested again in Miami after the DNA match was made. He was found with a young woman who may have been his next victim. This offender was found guilty on twenty-two counts, and sentenced to 400 years in prison.

This offender had been convicted of felony robbery in 1992 at a time when New York did not collect DNA samples from criminals convicted of felony robbery. Moreover, if a 1996 expansion of the database to include robbery convictions had been applied retroactively, he could have been required to provide a DNA sample at this point. The sample would have been linked to one of the previous crimes, thereby preventing at least two sexual assaults against juveniles and one death. It is also worth noting that a sooner DNA match would have prevented an innocent man from spending four months in prison.

SEVEN PREVENTABLE RAPES AND ROBBERIES

In 2001 it was revealed that New York City had between 14,000 and 16,000 unanalyzed rape kits that were sitting in a storage rooms. Through a focused backlog reduction program, the City has been analyzing the rape kits and loading them into the state DNA database system.  In 2002, two unsolved rapes that were part of the backlog reduction project were connected to the same offender. The offender's criminal history included five prior arrests which resulted in

two separate felony convictions - in 1991 for robbery and sexual abuse, and in 1997 for armed robbery. Although New York was not collecting DNA from robbery convictions in 1997, a 2000 law expanded the database to include robbery and included offenders who were still incarcerated for previous convictions. Upon release in 2001, the offender in question was required to give a DNA sample for the database.

This offender was arrested in December 2001 for a series of rapes and robberies (seven separate incidents). If the 1996 rape kits had been tested sooner, this person would have been linked to these assaults in 2001 prior to his release, thereby preventing the subsequent 7 attacks occurring after his release.

DNA Lady is a Coalition Member of NPM

September is National Preparedness Month (NPM). DNA Lady New Jersey office has registered as a coalition member of the NPM. NPM is sponsored by FEMA's Ready Campaign in partnership with Citizen Corps and the Advertising Council and is designed to encourage Americans to take simple steps to prepare for emergencies in their homes, businesses, and communities. The more prepared the public is, the stronger our emergency response team will be. DNA Lady in New Jersey is a single resource for an agency requiring identification of victims and their families through the collection of DNA samples to matching or create a genetic profile. DNA Lady obtained certification from the US Department of Labor in the Incident Command System (ICS) 200.  This two day course covered the ICS organization, basic terminology and common responsibilities.

Everyone in the community has a role to play when it comes to preparing for and responding to the next disaster, whether an act of god, such as severe weather, or an act of terrorism.

FEMA's Ready Campaign asks families and businesses to do 3 things to participate in the National Preparedness Month:

• Prepare a Basic Emergency Supply Kit
• Create a Family Emergency Plan
• Know what types of Emergencies may happen in your area

The contents of the Basic Emergency Supply Kit should include:

• Water, one gallon of water per person per day for at least three days, for drinking and sanitation
• Food, at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food (don't forget your pet's food as well)
• Battery-powered or hand crank radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert and extra batteries for both
• Flashlight and extra batteries
• First aid kit - include prescription medication and dosage information
• Whistle to signal for help
• Dust mask, to help filter contaminated air and plastic sheeting and duct tape to shelter-in-place
• Moist towelettes, hygiene products, garbage bags and plastic ties for personal sanitation
• Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities (good time to find out the source of all your utilities)
• Can opener for food (if kit contains canned food)
• Local maps

• Cell phone with chargers (have emergency contact numbers programmed ahead of time and label ICE)
• Important family documents such as copies of insurance policies, identification and bank account records in a waterproof, portable container
• DNA Child Safety Identification - a genetic profile of your children and family members will expedite any post-accident identification processes
• Cash or traveler's checks and change
• Emergency reference material such as a first aid book
• Sleeping bag or warm blanket for each person. Consider additional bedding if you live in a cold-weather climate.
• Complete change of clothing including a long sleeved shirt, long pants and sturdy shoes. Consider additional clothing if you live in a cold-weather climate.
• Household chlorine bleach and medicine dropper - When diluted nine parts water to one part bleach, bleach can be used as a disinfectant. Or in an emergency, you can use it to treat water by using 16 drops of regular household liquid bleach per gallon of water. Do not use scented, color safe or bleaches with added cleaners.
• Fire Extinguisher
• Matches in a waterproof container
• Mess kits, paper cups, plates and plastic utensils, paper towels
• Paper and pencil
• Books, games, puzzles or other activities for children

Give this list to your children, and have them create the kit and put it in a safe place. Involving the children gives them a sense of control if an emergency arises - they know they have done something to prepare for an emergency. Make it an end of summer project. Host a CSI party (Child Safety Identification), where your local DNA collections expert collects and creates a genetic profile of the entire family.Let your local DNA expert, provide a key document to be a part of your Emergency Response Kit. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children also recommends that parents and/or legal guardians have a DNA profile of their children, in case of emergency. DNA profiles are the gold standard in human identification, today.

Family Emergency Plan

• Identify an out-of town contact.It may be easier to make a long-distance phone call than to call across town, so an out-of-town contact may be in a better position to communicate among separated family members. (during 9/11, many will remember that we could not contact local family in New York and New Jersey, but could easily make a call out to the Midwest or South Atlantic)
• Be sure every member of your family knows the phone number and has a cell phone, coins, or a prepaid phone card to call the emergency contact. If you have a cell phone, program that person(s) as "ICE" (In Case of Emergency) in your phone.
• Teach family members how to use text messaging. Text messages can often get around network disruptions when a phone call might not be able to get through.
• Subscribe to alert services. Many communities now have systems that will send instant text alerts or e-mails to let you know about bad weather, road closings, local emergencies, etc. For example, know the url of your local town's emergency response system - you can sign up ahead of time for messages.
• Emergency Messaging

Planning to Stay or Go

Depending on your circumstances and the nature of the emergency, the first important decision is whether you stay where you are or evacuate. You should understand and plan for both possibilities. Use common sense and available information, including what you are learning here, to determine if there is an immediate danger. In any emergency, local authorities may or may not immediately be able to provide information on what is happening and what you should do. However, you should watch TV, listen to the radio or check the Internet often for information or official instruction as it becomes available.

Emergency Information

Find out what kinds of disasters, both natural and man-made, are most likely to occur in your area and how you will be notified. Methods of getting your attention vary from community to community. One common method is to broadcast via emergency radio and TV broadcasts. You might hear a special siren, or get a telephone call, or emergency workers may go door-to-door - make sure they are fully identified before you open your door.

DNA Lady is a community based DNA collections facility. Our DNA tests are performed by an AABB, CAP, CLIA, ASCLD, NYSDOH, FQS-I/ISO IEC 17025 accredited laboratory. All tests are performed twice for accuracy and reliability.  Results are reviewed by a Ph.d and notarized. Email the DNA Lady if you have any questions regarding DNA collections.

• 44 percent reported that evidence is not submitted for analysis unless a suspect has been identified  *** majority of offenders are not first time - a state may have a previous DNA profile already in a database - submitting the new evidence for analysis may help to identify the perpetrator ****
  
• 15 percent of law enforcement agencies reported that they may not submit forensic evidence to a lab if the analysis was not requested by a prosecutor
• 11 percent said they did not submit evidence because they felt the lab was not able to produce timely results  *** private & accredited DNA testing labs offer turn around times of as little as 4- 6 weeks on forensic DNA analysis with RUSH options available ***