"Investigators are broadening their DNA searches beyond
government databases and demanding genetic information from companies
that do ancestry research for their customers. Two major companies
that research family lineage for fees around $200 say that over the
last two years, they have received law enforcement demands for genetic
information stored in their DNA databases. Ancestry.com
and competitor 23andme report a total of five requests from law
agencies for the genetic material of six individuals in their growing
databases of hundreds of thousands. Ancestry.com turned over one
person’s data for an investigation into the murder and rape of an
18-year-old woman in Idaho Falls, Idaho. 23andme has received four other
court orders but persuaded investigators to withdraw the request. The companies say law enforcement demands for genetic information are rare. But
privacy advocates and experts are concerned that genetic information
turned over for medical, family history research or other highly
personal reasons could be misused by investigators- and that the few
known cases could be the start of a trend. “There will be more
requests as time goes on and the technology evolves,” said New York
University law professor Erin Murphy, author of “Inside The Cell: The
Dark Side of Forensic DNA. Law
enforcement agencies across the country have access to growing state
and national databases with millions of genetic samples of convicted
offenders and arrestees. Investigators compare DNA found at crime
scenes against the genetic samples in the government databases.........In the summer of 2014, court
documents show, the Idaho Falls Police Department obtained a warrant to
seize genetic information from Ancestry.com in connection with the 1996
rape and murder of Angie Dodge. In 1998, Christopher Tapp was
sentenced to life in prison for Dodge’s murder and rape, but he’s
appealing his conviction saying his confession was coerced. Police are
still working the case at the insistence of Dodge’s mother and others
because the only DNA found on her body was not Tapp’s and investigators
believe another suspect also was involved. Idaho Falls police sent
the DNA sample to Ancestry.com in 2014 to process. Ancestry emailed the
results to the police without naming anyone in the company’s database,
which was only partially accessible to the public. The results,
however, established a close, though not exact, match. Believing the
killer could be a relative of the DNA donor, police obtained a warrant
to compel the company to turn over the donor’s name. “The hurdles
for this should be extremely high, like getting a warrant for a wiretap,
because it is an invasion of privacy,” said Greg Hampikian, a Boise
State University biology professor and forensic DNA expert assisting
with efforts to exonerate Tapp. Hampikian said there has to be “a
compelling public safety issue” and judge’s approval before calling on
companies to turn over genetic information."
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/mar/26/law-enforcement-investigators-seek-out-private-dna/