A nearly 40-year-old Livingston County cold case was solved with help from a company in Texas that specializes in analyzing small amounts of DNA evidence.
Othram Inc. used a method called Forensic Genetic Genealogy (FGG) and Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing to help the Livingston County Cold Case Team bring closure to the family of Christina Lynn Castiglione.
Learn more about her case: Livingston County Cold Case Team solves nearly 40-year-old murder
DNA testing, or profiling, was introduced in the 1980s. According to the National Institute of Justice, except for identical twins, no two people have the same DNA.
The genetic code that is found in the human body can be collected from the skin, blood, saliva and bone to create a profile. Initially, a lot of blood or semen was needed to create DNA profiles. Now, it can be picked up from just a few cells that were left behind.
Othram’s sole focus is to help investigators solve cases
Othram was formed in 2018 with the sole purpose of using DNA analysis to help investigators solve otherwise unsolvable cases. Othram’s Chief Development Officer Kristen Mittelman spoke with me about the company, the technology and the impact they’re having.
Mittelman said the DNA experts at Othram realized that evidence was being used, or consumed, using DNA testing techniques that were built for medical or consumer purposes. They realized that while those techniques were able to solve some cases, they weren’t suitable to solve most cases that had DNA evidence.
“Othram built itself as the lab that uses the most advanced genomic technologies out there for forensic purposes only. So we actually contextualize ourselves within the forensic process, from the very beginning. And all we do is human identification for victims, or for perpetrators from crime scenes, we do nothing else,” Mittelman said.
In the Castiglione case, it was only a matter of months between Othram receiving the DNA and police identifying the suspect. Othram received the evidence in May of 2022, and police did three confirmations to confirm the results.
“That means that all our work was done and all of the law enforcement work to follow up the lead, to identify the family to confirm the lead, and then to genetically confirm the lead happened within that time,” Mittelman said.
The suspect was named publicly in February 2023.
How this technology is helping investigators solve cold cases
Othram specializes in recovering and analyzing human DNA using very small amounts of degraded or contaminated forensic evidence.
“We actually have a specialized approach that has allowed us to work more evidence than anyone else on Earth using these types of testing methods,” Mittelman said.
Othram has been able to make its testing process extremely predictive. That means they’re able to tell investigators whether or not they can help before they consume the evidence for testing.
Mittelman noted the importance of that, saying the piece of DNA evidence “could be someone’s last chance of getting justice, or hope of identifying their loved one.”
“We get a piece of evidence from the crime scene, whatever it is. And then we extract DNA from that piece of evidence. Once the DNA is extracted, then we build a DNA profile that has hundreds and hundreds of thousands of markers on it,” Mittelman said.
Mittelman said with CODIS (Combined DNA Index System) testing, researchers look at 20 STR (short tandem repeat) markers. So, when DNA is uploaded into that database, sometimes investigators can get a match because the person is already in the database, or a very close relative is in the database.
Othram technology identifies more markers than typical CODIS testing does.
“Because we’re looking at so many more markers from that, were able to get matches that are more distant. And that allows you to figure out who someone’s identity is,” Mittelman said.
Othram identifies a DNA profile and uploads it to genealogical databases that allow access for these types of investigations, which allows investigators to find relatives, even distant relatives. One of those databases belongs to Othram and is called DNA Solves. The other two are Family Tree DNA and GEDmatch. Othram uses all three databases to find as many matches as possible and identify the victim or perpetrator.
DNA has thousands of markers, and Mittelman said they wouldn’t get an incorrect match with that many markers. While Othram’s testing isn’t meant to give a definitive answer, it can be used to point law enforcement in the right direction.
“We provide law enforcement with an investigative lead. So, we tell law enforcement we think this person belongs in this family, or it could be this person or that person. And then what they do is they use standard STR testing to confirm the identity. So that’s exactly what happened. And when that identity is confirmed, you can’t get a false positive,” Mittelman said.
The impact their work is having
Many families with loved ones who are missing or were murdered are still searching for answers, even decades later.
“I’ve met so many people and so many families that needed this answer for so many years. And from the very beginning of doing this job, even meeting one person, you realize that their life has stopped at the moment when they lost someone or their loved one was murdered or harmed, and they couldn’t get justice for them. And they spend their entire life, decades and decades, trying to figure out what happened and get justice. And we are able, every time, to come in and take evidence that was previously not able to solve the case and help provide that investigative lead,” Mittelman said. “That’s an incredible feeling.”
Mittelman said that DNA technology is evolving, and their technology has improved even since Othram was first founded in 2018.
“I can already see cases that we actually halted as quality control feasibility in the very beginning, because we couldn’t work that type of DNA, and then we’ve now gone back to it,” Mittelman said.
They’ve been able to look at cases involving burnt remains, remains that were treated with formaldehyde, or cases where there were as little as .12 nanograms of DNA left from the perpetrator.
“There were cases even when we started in 2018, that seemed impossible, that now the technology has iterated on itself enough to make it possible. And I truly believe that we’re going to live in a world where every case that has DNA left is going to have answers eventually, and I can’t wait for that day,” Mittelman said.
Mittelman said their cases cost under $10,000 from beginning to end. Once they give police a price, that price does not change. In the Castiglione case, the research was funded by a grant from Season of Justice.
The company created DNA Solves to help crowdfund and raise awareness about cold cases and bring closure to families on otherwise “unsolvable” cases. The DNA Solves database is used to help identify unidentified bodies and help investigators bring cases to a close.
While Othram’s focus is on identifying otherwise unidentifiable remains and suspects in violent cases, there are programs using DNA to exonerate people who have been wrongfully convicted. According to the Innocence Project, the first DNA exoneration took place in 1989. There have been at least 375 exonerees since then.
Othram is involved in other Michigan cold cases
Othram has four Michigan cold cases listed on its DNA Solves website. Two have been solved and two have been completely funded.
The solved cases include the murder of Christina Castiglione and the identification of the remains of Xin Rong. Investigators believe Rong jumped from a plane he was piloting in 2017 and died from blunt force trauma.
The funded cases include searching for the identity of a teen found dead in Saginaw in 1988, and the search for the identity of an infant found dead in Warren in 1999.
In the Saginaw case, the boy was found dead on Oct. 8, 1988. Saginaw police are working with Othram to use DNA testing to find the boy’s family with the goal of identifying him.
Read: Do you recognize this child? Boy found dead in Saginaw in 1988 still unidentified 34 years later
In the Warren case, a newborn baby was found dead in April 1999, in a plastic grocery bag hanging on a fence behind a garage in Warren. She died of asphyxiation up to five days before her body was discovered. She is known as “Baby Joan Doe” but her true identity is still unknown. She was buried in Clinton Township.
How the public can get involved
Othram is contracted to help identify unidentified people and solve violent crimes, such as homicides and sexual assaults.
They do not offer genealogy or health tools, and only law enforcement has access to their database. The public can help by funding a case or contributing DNA.
If you know of a case that needs attention, you can reach out to DNA Solves directly, or have the investigators reach out.
Contact DNA Solves directly at support@dnasolves.com. If you have questions, comments or general feedback, you can call DNA Solves at 832-906-4247.
Want to learn more? Here are some helpful links: Othram, DNA Solves, Livingston County Cold Case Team, Season of Justice, Innocence Project
Read: Michigan cold case coverage
Why is ClickOnDetroit covering so many cold cases?
We’re working to bring attention to as many unsolved and missing persons cases from around the state as we can. Our hope is that getting this important information out to the public will help generate tips for investigators and potentially lead to closure for the affected families. If you have a cold case you’d like us to look into, please let us know by using the form below.