A trial using genetic testing is now underway by police and the Institute of Environmental Science Research (ESR) in the hopes of solving two of the country's most well-known cold cases.
The investigative tool will be used as police seek new leads into the unsolved murders of Mellory Manning and Alicia O'Reilly.
Manning, a 27-year-old sex worker, was murdered in Christchurch in December 2008. Her body was found in the Avon River the following morning by a kayaker.
Alicia was six years old when she was found dead in her bed in the Auckland suburb of Avondale in August 1980. Her older sister had been asleep just metres away in the same bedroom.
Their families have been made aware of the developments, Detective Superintendent Ross McKay said.
"We acknowledge this is a difficult time for these families and hope we can provide them with the information they need to seek closure on these cases," he said.
"Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy (FIGG) combines DNA testing with genealogical research to analyse genetic relationships between individuals who share very small amounts of inherited DNA with the crime scene DNA sample using genealogy databases and publicly available records and is being used internationally to help solve cold cases and identify human remains.
"Using techniques like FIGG has the potential to provide investigative leads and potentially resolve some of the most serious unsolved crimes."
McKay said due to the complexity of the tool involved, only cases where "suitable DNA evidence" was captured during the initial investigation were selected, and "after all other investigative avenues have been considered and exhausted".
"All physical sample testing is completed in New Zealand and extractions of the digital genetic code will be provided to a third-party international service provider with no actual DNA material needing to be sent outside of New Zealand.
"Results from genealogy websites, where submitters provide law enforcement access to their records, are used as the basis of genealogy searching of publicly available records such as genealogy database, church records and libraries."
The trial will be evaluated following the conclusion of the use of FIGG for the two cold cases.
Data control
Andelka Phillips, senior lecturer in law, science and technology at the University of Queensland, has previously encouraged people to be mindful of the potential risks of buying commercial DNA tests.
She told 1News today that people needed to be cautious when engaging with DNA services, as while they are interested in ancestry or their health, they are not necessarily thinking about the information being used in a criminal investigation.
Once a test has been purchased, it's difficult to control what's done with the data.
"I'm not anti-industry, I want to make that clear. But I do think it's something that — particularly if we're going to use it in criminal investigations — we should be establishing more guidelines and governance mechanisms around it, because the dangers are there."
Karaitiana Taiuru said there were tikanga/mātauranga Māori and Māori data sovereignty perspectives to consider as well.
"Firstly, with the genetic data that is already in direct-to-consumer company/public databases such as Ancestry.com, there are very little new concerns about this procedure as all Māori cultural concerns and precautions have been ignored when the originally individuals provided their details to the online company, signing away their and their descendants' rights to their DNA. Any individual is essentially giving up all of their privacy rights when they use such services.
"Secondly, the use of other databases would include the Police DNA samples that ESR maintain. The Law Commission report 'The Use of DNA in Criminal Investigations' in 2020 showed that Māori suspects (including a lot of youth) were more likely to have a DNA sample taken by the Police than non-Māori suspects and that there are no Māori cultural protocols in place to protect the samples. Also, that even if innocent, the DNA sample remains in the DNA bank.
"This will result in discrimination of a large population of Māori and possibly their wider whānau could be questions and possibly asked for further DNA tests to reduce the pool of suspects."
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