Sheriff, genealogist discuss breakthrough in 1996 Belgrade murder mystery

Published: Sep 05, 2024 Duration: 00:04:08 Category: News & Politics

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COLD CASE IN BELGRADE SOLVED THROUGH INVESTIGATIVE GENETIC GENEALOGY. THE DNA EXPERT BEHIND IT AND THE TECHNOLOGY SHE USED TO CRACK THE CASE >>IN 1996, 15 YEAR OLD DANIELLE HAWKINS WAS FOUND MURDERED AT A POPULAR FISHING ACCESS IN BELGRADE. THE CASE WENT COLD FOR NEARLY THREE DECADES. IN EARLY AUGUST, GALLATIN COUNTY SHERIFF DAN ANNOUNCED THAT THE CASE HAD BEEN SOLVED WITH THE HELP OF INVESTIGATIVE GENETIC GENEALOGY. I INTERVIEWED CECE MOORE, THE CHIEF GENETIC GENEALOGIST WHO BROKE THIS CASE AS WELL AS GALLATIN COUNTY SHERIFF DAN SPRINGER TO DISCUSS HOW THIS COLD CASE WAS ULTIMATELY SOLVED AND HOW IT ALL LED BACK TO THE SUSPECT PAUL HUTCHINSON. IT'S A STORY YOU'LL ONLY SEE RIGHT HERE ON NBC MONTANA INVESTIGATIVE GENETIC GENEALOGY A NEW WAY OF LEADING COLD CASE FORENSICS. IT IS USING THE COMBINATION OF DNA AND TRADITIONAL GENEALOGY TO HELP LAW ENFORCEMENT IDENTIFY VIOLENT CRIMINALS. AND JANE OR JOHN DOE'S IT'S THE POINT IN THE INVESTIGATION WHERE LAW ENFORCEMENT HAS NO LEADS. AND THAT'S WHERE CECE MOORE COMES IN. YOU MAY RECOGNIZE CECE MOORE FROM THE HIT TELEVISION SHOW THE GENETIC DETECTIVE, AS WELL AS CRIME SHOWS SUCH AS 48 HOURS. I TALKED EXCLUSIVELY WITH HER ABOUT HOW HER AND HER TEAM WERE ABLE TO CRACK THE COLD CASE MURDER OF DANIELLE HAWKINS. >>INCLUDED IN THAT ORIGINAL PHYSICAL EVIDENCE WAS ROOTLESS HAIR. AND SO THAT IS WHAT ENDED UP ENABLING US TO PERFORM INVESTIGATIVE GENETIC GENEALOGY. THE SUSPECT LEFT A PIECE OF ROOTLESS HAIR AT THE MURDER SCENE. >>MOORE WAS ABLE TO SEND THAT SINGLE STRAND OF HAIR TO ESTRELLA FORENSICS IN CALIFORNIA, WHERE GROUNDBREAKING TECHNOLOGY WAS ABLE TO BUILD A SUSPECT DNA PROFILE. >>WE ARE ALMOST ALWAYS WORKING WITH VERY DISTANT RELATIVES WHEN WE USE INVESTIGATIVE GENETIC GENEALOGY TO IDENTIFY A VIOLENT CRIMINAL, AND IT IS ALMOST NEVER JUST ONE MATCH. THAT LEADS US TO HIM. AND IN THIS CASE, I WAS ABLE TO CONNECT TO ALL FOUR OF PAUL HUTCHINSON'S GRANDPARENTS AFTER HIS DNA PROFILE WAS BUILT AND MOORE AND HER TEAM WERE ABLE TO IDENTIFY PAUL HUTCHINSON AS THE MAIN SUSPECT, HUTCHINSON WAS INTERVIEWED BY LEAD DETECTIVE TOM ELKMONT, A RETIRED LOS ANGELES POLICE OFFICER WHO WAS HIRED TO TAKE ON THIS CASE. >>I'VE WATCHED THE VIDEO OF THE INTERVIEW AND HE HE WAS NERVOUS. >>HIS BEHAVIOR WAS ERRATIC, AND SO IT MATCHED WHAT YOU WOULD EXPECT A SUSPECT TO, YOU KNOW, TO LOOK LIKE, AT THAT TIME, WE OBVIOUSLY WE STILL DID NOT HAVE FULL, 100% PROOF OR, YOU KNOW, WE HAD NOT BEEN ABLE TO GET HIS DNA MATCHED TO THE PROFILE THAT WE HAD JUST A DAY AFTER THEIR INITIAL INTERVIEW WITH PAUL HUTCHINSON SHERIFF SPRINGER FOUND OUT THAT PAUL HUTCHINSON HAD DIED BY SUICIDE FROM THE BEAVERHEAD COUNTY SHERIFF. PAUL HAD REACHED OUT, CALLED 911, AND INFORMED THEM THAT HE WAS NEEDING ASSISTANCE THERE. DEPUTIES WENT OUT TO THE SCENE, AND FOUND THAT HE HAD, YOU KNOW, BEEN KILLED FROM A SINGLE GUNSHOT WOUND SELF-INFLICTED. >>THAT'S WHEN INVESTIGATORS WERE ABLE TO COLLECT DNA FROM HUTCHINSON AND WERE ABLE TO CONFIRM THROUGH THE STATE CRIME LAB THAT THE DNA PROFILE BUILT FROM INVESTIGATIVE GENETIC GENEALOGY AND DNA FROM HUTCHINSON WAS A PERFECT MATCH. >>BEING ABLE TO TELL DANNY'S FAMILY THAT WE HAVE NOW FIGURED THIS OUT WE KNOW WHO IT IS. THERE WAS A LOT OF RELIEF, AND I THINK MOSTLY FOR THEM, YOU CAN SEE THE RELIEF IN THEIR FACE, THEY ARE, OBVIOUSLY SOME KIND OF WEIGHT FROM THEIR LIFE HAS BEEN LIFTED OFF OF THEM >>SHERIFF SPRINGER SAID EVEN ON THE DAYS WHERE HE NEVER THOUGHT THIS CASE WOULD BE RESOLVED, HE NEVER LOST HOPE. CECE MOORE SAYS IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN PROVIDING YOUR DNA AND SUPPORTING THE WORK THAT THEY DO, YOU CAN UPLOAD YOUR DNA TO DNA. JUSTICE A NONPROFIT DATABASE THAT MOORE FOUNDED, OR FAMILY TREE DNA OR GEDMATCH. I POSTED LINKS TO THESE PAGES ON OUR HOME PAGE AT NBC MONTANA.COM, REPORTING IN MISSOULA KYLIE GIBSON NBC MONTANA.

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