--- title: "Police Say They Used Genealogy Database to Arrest Idaho Murder Suspect" description: "For many weeks now, the gruesome quadruple murders of University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin, have been the subject of intense national coverage and public speculation. The young students, all aged 20 to 21, were slain in their beds, seemingly at random. A chilling crime indeed, especially considering […]" date: "2023-01-05" modified: "2023-01-05" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/genealogy-database-idaho-murders-suspect" categories: - "DNA" - "Genetics" - "Health & Medicine" tags: - "dna" - "forensics" - "genealogy" - "genetics" --- # Police Say They Used Genealogy Database to Arrest Idaho Murder Suspect ![Police have made an arrest in the University of Idaho murder case, using "public genealogy databases" to link the alleged killer's DNA to the crime scene.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* For many weeks now, the [gruesome quadruple murders]() of University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin have been the subject of intense national coverage and public speculation. The students, all aged 20 to 21, were slain in their beds, seemingly at random. The crimes were chilling, and for weeks police failed to produce a suspect or motive. Until, perhaps, now. Police [revealed to *ABC New*s]() on Tuesday that they've finally made an arrest in the case, using "public genealogy databases" to link the alleged killer's DNA to the crime scene. With that evidence, 28-year-old Washington State University graduate student Bryan Kohberger was taken into custody in Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains, thousands of miles from where the killings occurred in Moscow, Idaho. (Law enforcement told *ABC* that they "cannot reveal any information, including a motive or further details about how they tracked down Kohberger, until he is back in Idaho.") While it's a relatively recent phenomenon, genealogy databases have proven to be a boon to investigators who may otherwise run into dead ends, mostly due to the fact that suspects don't need to have ever sent their *own* DNA to an ancestry database. Instead, the databases allow investigators to follow genetic threads, connecting dots between close and distant relatives until they can identify a viable suspect. "If you're white, live in the United States, and a distant relative has uploaded their DNA to a public ancestry database," [*Science.org* noted]() back in 2021, "there's a good chance an internet sleuth can identify you from a DNA sample you left somewhere." In other words, someone with a pension for doing crime may see the value in keeping their genetic information away from 23andMe, but if their distant Aunt Suzy decides that she wants to map her family tree? They're in trouble. This isn't the first time that such databases have been used to identify a high-profile murderer — the infamous Golden State Killer, for example, was finally named, charged, and convicted by California law enforcement [through similar means](), decades after his reign of violent sexual crimes in the 1970s and '80s. Elsewhere, roundabout — and in some cases, [definitely morally contentious]() — DNA samples, if not by way of genealogy sites, have been used to solve [similarly decades-old crimes](). Kohberger is on his way back to Idaho to face trial for the murders, [according to *CNN*](). And while it'll be fascinating to learn more about how the case against him was built, one thing remains clear: genealogy databases have found a lasting position in the modern law enforcement toolbelt. We should probably expect Kohberger's arrest to be just one of many more to come in the future. **READ MORE:** *[Idaho murders: Suspect was identified through DNA using genealogy databases, police say]()* \[*ABC News*\] **More on genetics in forensics:** *[Cops Use Newborn Baby's DNA to Nail Dad for Crime from the 90s]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()