Phenotype Report Case #86-0216

Snapshot Prediction Results Phenotype Report Case #86-0216

Contact: Lt. Michael Buﬃngton League City Police Dept. (281) 338-8220 Sex: Female♀ Age: Unknown (Shown at age 25) Body Mass: Unknown (Shown at BMI 22, Normal) Ancestry: Northern European Likely Family Origin: Tennessee

7.7 NOT: Brown / Dark Brown Skin Color (99.3% confidence) Fair / Very Fair (80.2% conﬁdence)

11.8 NOT: Brown / Black Eye Color (99.2% confidence) Blue / Green (86.5% conﬁdence)

16.0 NOT: Black Hair Color (97.9% confidence) Blond / Brown (97.9% conﬁdence)

30.3 NOT: Many Freckles (95.8% confidence) Zero / Few (86.0% conﬁdence)

For Immediate Release:

League City Police Use New DNA Methods in Attempt to Identify 1986 Female Murder Victim

League City, Texas – Investigators from the League City Police Department are seeking the public’s help in identifying the skeletal remains of a homicide victim from a 1986 “Calder Road” cold case. Detectives are hoping that recent scientific advancements in the field of forensic DNA analysis will generate leads and help identify the woman whose body was found on February 2, 1986, in League City, Galveston County, Texas.

League City investigators recently employed Parabon NanoLabs (Parabon), a DNA technology company in Virginia, to predict the physical appearance and ancestry of the unidentified woman using a new method of forensic DNA analysis called DNA phenotyping. Parabon’s Snapshot® DNA Phenotyping software analyzed the unidentified woman’s DNA and made predictions about her eye color, hair color, skin color, freckling, and face shape. The Snapshot analysis predicted the woman most likely had fair to very fair skin, blue or green eyes, blond/brown hair, no or few freckles, and has a likely family origin of Tennessee. These predictions were combined with a forensic facial reconstruction to create the composite, shown in the accompanying poster, depicting what the unidentified woman may have looked like at age 25. It is important to note that Snapshot composites are scientific approximations of appearance based on DNA, and that environmental factors, such as hairstyle or scars, cannot be determined.

Coroners estimate the woman was 22-30 years old, 5'5" to 5'8" tall and that she had died 6 weeks to 6 months prior to being found. The woman had a small caliber gunshot wound to the back. The woman also had old, healed injuries which were unrelated to her death. Her left fifth and fourth ribs showed healed fractures that were likely the result of a singular event. She also had a noticeable gap in the upper portion of her front teeth.

In addition to the Snapshot analysis, genetic genealogy methodologies were employed in an attempt to identify the subject. Based on this additional analysis, it is believed the woman’s relatives originate from the state of Tennessee.

CALL TO ACTION: If you or someone you know originates from the specific geographic areas listed above, please check with relatives and ask if any females matching the description provided in the Snapshot poster went missing around 1986 or inexplicably have not been in contact since that time. If you have any information that may help in this investigation, please call Lieutenant Michael Buffington of the League City Police Department at (281) 338-8220.