This would indicate that a) the DeAngelo procedure may have been in violation

How so?

I could be way off, but my understanding is they submitted DeAngelo’s DNA to GED Match, not being either him, or an authorized representative.

(Unless there’s something inherent in the law where someone committing a criminal act is by default granting the authorization.)

Hi Xcaliber…

Would you please add something to the Topic Heading so people can easily understand what this thread is about. Makes it easier later on. I can do it, but thought I’d leave it to you…

I could be way off, but my understanding is they submitted DeAngelo’s DNA to GED Match, not being either him, or an authorized representative.

I’m not sure, but I don’t think they submitted his DNA, just checked against what was already posted there. I’ll have to read through some reports to try to find out.

Could be, though I think to search you have to enter your DNA ‘kit number’.

Hi Xcaliber…

Would you please add something to the Topic Heading so people can easily understand what this thread is about. Makes it easier later on. I can do it, but thought I’d leave it to you…

Thanks Tahoe, sorry about that!

I’ve never submitted my DNA for family research. What’s the setup? I know that after you submit the DNA you can see all the screen names of people who have submitted their DNA and what their relationship is to you. You would then be able to see thier family tree they have worked but I am assuming it is only available if they allow it. The tree they create may not be all inclusive, meaning, some leg work would still need to be done genealogically to know you have all the names. Do I have this right?

Soze

OK, I checked and they did upload their DNA profile to the GEDmatch site to get the first match. I’m sure it will be challenged by Deangelo’s lawyer but, the things I see that might be in the favor of the police

GEDmatch does allow the use of an alias.

It is an open source site and anyone downloading their file is made aware others can access it.

The original DNA the police had that was used was voluntarily left at a crime scene by Deangelo, so the police has the right to use it, no question about that.

The GEDmatch site did not give a direct match to Deangelo, it merely matched a distant relative. It was a sample obtained by police after that, from an object discarded by Deangelo which is perfectly legal and allowed, that matched the suspect to the DNA police already had.

I suppose the judge could rule they would never have known to obtained a new sample from Deangelo to match their crime scene DNA without the GEDmatch site IF the judge rules they can’t use the original DNA family match. I find it doubtful, but maybe.

I’d guess this is why some jurisdictions haven’t charged Deangelo, if this case falls through they will immediately arrest him and try another way. Someone might even just go with circumstantial evidence of they have to. Anything to keep him in jail as long as they can.

I’ve never submitted my DNA for family research. What’s the setup? I know that after you submit the DNA you can see all the screen names of people who have submitted their DNA and what their relationship is to you. You would then be able to see thier family tree they have worked but I am assuming it is only available if they allow it. The tree they create may not be all inclusive, meaning, some leg work would still need to be done genealogically to know you have all the names. Do I have this right?

Soze

I think it all depends on which site you use. I believe Ancestry.com does a lot of the work for you, but this open source GEDmatch is different. I think you have to do the searching yourself, I’m not sure.

LE checked with Lawyers as to whether this was legal, and the answer was "yes," so they went ahead and did it. This info was in one of the recent articles about the case, poss a sacbee article, or maybe the nyt article, sorry I can’t remember exactly.

Also, the police are totally allowed to lie to you, so this could be seen as an extension of that principle, they don’t have to tell GED the truth in pursuit of a criminal. (There was an AMA with an ex-cop and he said this as well. He commented that undercover cops lie all the time as it is the only way to maintain their cover. Also, I’m sure you’ve all seen Breaking Bad, and the scene with the dealer kid and the cop on the bench, the "you have to tell me if you’re a cop, right?" scene.)

This will not be thrown out, the case was way too big, especially with all the recent publicity, and LE will have been sure to be careful, they don’t want EARONS slipping through their fingers!

What about this scenario:

The lab pulls a profile off the Vallejo letters.
They run it against the LE databases and nothing matches.
So they run the DNA code through GED Match.
They come up with a person, knock on their door, and it turns out to be an ex-postal worker who handled the Zodiac envelope.
Were the actions of the police okay?

In my opinion they weren’t, because they weren’t authorized by the postal worker to run the sample through GED Match.

What about this scenario:

The lab pulls a profile off the Vallejo letters.
They run it against the LE databases and nothing matches.
So they run the DNA code through GED Match.
They come up with a person, knock on their door, and it turns out to be an ex-postal worker who handled the Zodiac envelope.
Were the actions of the police okay?

In my opinion they weren’t, because they weren’t authorized by the postal worker to run the sample through GED Match.

So if a neighbor borrows my car, commits a crime using it, a witness gets the plate numbers and the police knock on my door, you are saying it’s not okay because I didn’t give police the authority to run my plate number, which led back to me?

Police have the latitude to follow evidence. A random blood splatter near a crime scene can be processed, and if it turns out to be from someone else not related to the crime, well, that kind of thing happens all the time.

I’m pretty sure LE can run plate numbers without authorization.

It doesn’t appear that anyone is allowed to run unauthorized DNA through GED Match though.

I hope I’m wrong!