Lifeguards Come to the Rescue
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JIM E. CHARLTON-FURLONG REALTOR CERTIFIED LUXURY HOME MARKETING SPECIALIST® B1 BRE HAPPY NEW YEAR! #01897214 COMMUNITY 831.212.9648 Bailey Properties Sunday, January 19, 2020 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/SCSENTINEL AND TWITTER.COM/SCSENTINEL santacruzsentinel.com » CRIME Roots in ‘forensic genealogy’ By Amanda Heidt KEY EVENTS [email protected] Central Coast duo unravels cold tools. Rasmussen died in 2010 cases while serving a 15-year sentence SANTA CRUZ » When they’re plan- in California’s High Desert State ning to rob a liquor store, most The emerging field of forensic genealogy has accelerated rapidly Prison for the murder of his criminals think to wear gloves girlfriend, Eunsoon Jun. and cover their faces. But few of in the last few years, thanks in them commit to shaving their large part to two Central Coast April 2018: Rae-Venter identifies heads to avoid leaving behind researchers. Here are some key Joseph James DeAngelo, now 74 even a single strand of hair. events: and awaiting trial, as the Golden In the future, however, they May 2017: Richard “Ed” Green, a State Killer. may want to add that task to their UC Santa Cruz associate professor May 2019: GEDmatch, a Florida modus operandi. Packed with of biomolecular engineering, uses company that allows its users to DNA, hair is quickly becoming a hair without roots to identify compare genetic testing results powerful source to help catch law- 3-year-old “Miranda Eve” as from different DNA companies, breakers. Edith Howard Cook, a member restricts access to its database Hair has been notoriously of a prominent 19th century Bay by law enforcement in response to tricky to analyze, but a new ap- Area family whose body was public concerns over privacy. proach by UC Santa Cruz re- found in a casket beneath a San June 2019: After working the RANDY VAZQUEZ — BAY AREA NEWS GROUP searchers — pulling DNA from Francisco home in 2016. The news Bear Brook case together for samples that are damaged or coverage led Monterey Peninsula almost two years, Rae-Venter and Richard “Ed” Green, an associate professor of biomolecular engineering contaminated — is expanding genealogist Barbara Rae-Venter Green positively identify three at UC Santa Cruz, has developed tools to decipher ancient DNA, helping the available pool of forensic evi- to contact Green for help in of the four victims as Marlyse solve long-cold cases, dence. DNA and ancestry records identifying the four victims in New Elizabeth Honeychurch, 24, and known for his work on the re- ily tree of a woman kidnapped as are now being used together to Hampshire’s Bear Brook murders daughters Marie Elizabeth Vaughn, mains of Neanderthals, has de- a child and later abandoned in a build family trees to identify rot- from the late ’70s. 6, and Sarah Lynn McWaters, 1. veloped tools to decipher ancient Scotts Valley mobile home park, ten apples among their branches. August 2017: Rae-Venter sends September 2019: Building on the DNA — often hundreds of thou- Rae-Venter had linked the alleged But while the rapidly emerg- hair samples from the victims of duo’s successes, Green co-founds sands of years old. abductor, Terry Peder Rasmussen, ing field of “forensic genealogy” the alleged Bear Brook serial killer, Astrea Forensics in Santa Cruz Before gaining recognition by to the four unsolved Bear Brook is solving long-cold cases, it’s also Terry Peder Rasmussen, to Green along with fellow paleogeneticist identifying Joseph James DeAn- murders in New Hampshire in the raising thorny ethical questions for analysis using new forensic Kelly Harkins Kincaid. gelo, the alleged Golden State late ’70s. DNA from the victims’ about privacy. We all leave traces Killer, Rae-Venter was a retiree bones, however, was too damaged of ourselves wherever we go. they have in the way of evidence,” ard “Ed” Green, an associate pro- practicing genealogy in her Mon- to establish the identity of the vic- “Law enforcement gets excited said genealogist Barbara Rae-Ven- fessor of biomolecular engineer- terey Peninsula home. tims, and Rasmussen had died about hair because often it’s all ter, who has teamed up with Rich- ing at UC Santa Cruz. Green, While reconstructing the fam- GENEALOGY » PAGE 3 ELDER LAW COMMUTE OUR OCEAN BACKYARD Lady friend Lifeguards died without SUNSET SKY will, annuity come to overlooked the rescue By 6 p.m. on July 1, 1997, Jack Dear Len & Rosie, Lish was still perched very un- I am a senior gent whose lady comfortably on the hull of his friend died almost a year ago overturned 14-foot without a will. We aluminum boat. had lived together Remember this in California for isn’t a young kid, 18 years. Every- but a guy in his thing she had was mid-70s. He had in joint accounts capsized about with me. But I Gary seven hours earlier McNichol Griggs & Tillem later discovered following the im- an annuity she pact with a large had overlooked wave several miles southeast of and no doubt forgotten about. Capitola. He had gotten much The beneficiaries of the annu- colder by now and had drifted ity have been dead for years. She nearly 5 miles since the incident has no living relatives except for and found himself off of Man- a couple of half-nephews in Ne- resa State Beach. braska she has not seen in more Being midsummer, Jack could than years. Since I was closest see and hear people still swim- to her and I took care her, could ming and playing in the water I be appointed executor so I can along the beach, but no one saw get the annuity? I have no idea him on his overturned boat. He what it’s worth. tried to stand on the hull and Tom shout in order to be seen, but al- Dear Tom, most immediately fell off into Today, non-traditional re- the water. He was also being lationships are as common as carried farther south and into marriage. Unfortunately for you, deeper water and he knew it the law hasn’t been updated to would get dark before too long, take your relationship into ac- which would make a rescue in- count regarding the disposi- creasingly unlikely. tion of your lady friend’s estate. About this time, Vern Martin, If all of the beneficiaries named a lifeguard on duty at Manresa in the annuity are deceased, Beach, thought he heard a weak then the annuity pays into her call or voice from offshore, but probate estate. Since there’s no didn’t immediately notice any- will, the probate estate goes to thing. A woman nearby walked your friend’s blood relatives, and over to Vern and told him that you’re not one of them. she thought she had seen an ob- There’s no such thing as com- ject, something red some dis- mon law marriage in California, tance offshore that appeared and that means your legal rights and disappeared as the swells against your friend’s estate are rolled by. This led the lifeguard the same as that of any friend, to climb onto his tower and get neighbor, casual acquaintance out his binoculars. After a short and stranger. The only claim time, Vern also noticed the red you have against her estate is of Jack’s parka about a mile off- if she owed you money. But it’s shore against the gray blue of not enough for you to show that the ocean. He ran to his patrol you provided her care and that SHMUEL THALER — SANTA CRUZ SENTINEL vehicle that was parked near you ought to be compensated for A fiery sunset colors the sky above the commute home at the corner of Highway 1 and Mis- the tower and flashed his lights it — you have to show that she offshore in an effort to let Jack LEN & ROSIE » PAGE 2 sion Street in Santa Cruz. GRIGGS » PAGE 3 533 Ocean St. •3600 Soquel Ave. •kindpeoples.com Licenses: C10-0000172-LIC •C10-0000234-LIC SUNDAY, JANUARY 19, 2020 SANTACRUZSENTINEL.COM | COMMUNITY B | 3 Heritage found that 60 per- bor Café, Jack and cent of Americans are iden- Clara again praised and Genealogy tifiable through family mem- Griggs thanked the young life- FROM PAGE 1 bers even if they never used FROM PAGE 1 guard crew who had re- DNA kits themselves. sponded so quickly and in California’s High Desert Critics of the new tools know that he had finally saved Jack’s life. Asked State Prison in 2010. claim that as more people been seen. if he would do anything Rae-Venter was stuck, use the kits and build out Vern and another life- different the next time unsure of how to unravel DNA databases, police could guard on the beach at he went out fishing, Jack the case, when she read a eventually track anyone. the time, Haven Livings- said “I’ll sure as heck news story about Green. Rebecca Jeschke, an ana- ton, informed Head State wear a whistle around my “I got so excited because lyst with the Electronic Fron- Lifeguard Jason Hajduk neck from now on.” he kept talking about hair,” tier Foundation in San Fran- (now the fire chief for the There are a large num- Rae-Venter said. cisco, warns that access to City of Santa Cruz) of the ber of things that can Because hair doesn’t de- databases could prompt po- situation and then ran wrong on any boat once grade much over time, she LIPO CHING — BAY AREA NEWS GROUP lice to “overcollect” genetic to their inflatable Zodiac you get a few miles off- had samples from each vic- Barbara Rae-Venter, a retired intellectual property attorney material.