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Colleen M. Fitzpatrick
American forensic genealogist From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Colleen M. Fitzpatrick (born April 25, 1955) is an American forensic scientist, genealogist and entrepreneur. She helped identify remains found at the crash site of Northwest Flight 4422, which crashed in Alaska in 1948. Fitzpatrick co-founded the DNA Doe Project which identifies previously unidentified bodies and runs Identifinders International, an investigative genetic genealogy consulting firm that helps identify victims and perpetrators of violent crimes.[1]
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Early life and education
Colleen M. Fitzpatrick was born April 25, 1955[2] in New Orleans, Louisiana. Fitzpatrick attended an all-girls Catholic school and nurtured her scientific curiosity through various science competitions including a summer science program in Baton Rouge funded by the National Science Foundation.[3] While applying to colleges, Fitzpatrick conducted an experiment on the Benham disk for her school's science fair.[4] Her project was selected for the Tomorrow's Scientists and Engineers award by Humble Oil which awarded her $6,000 towards her college tuition.[4] She received her BA in physics (1976) from Rice University, and her MA (1983) and PhD in nuclear physics (1983) from Duke University.[3][5]
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Early career
Fitzpatrick lectured at Sam Houston University for two years, before leaving to work on a laser radar system at Rockwell International and the LITE Laser at Spectron Laser Systems.[4] She then founded Rice Systems, Inc., an optics company, in her garage in 1986.[3] At Rice Systems, Fitzpatrick worked on contracts with the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense, NASA, and DARPA developing high-resolution laser measurement techniques.[3][4][5] Her company grew to employ ten scientists before closing in 2005.[5] At the time, Rice Systems had been working with NASA on a spacecraft to Jupiter before funding was cut by the Bush administration.[4]
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Forensic Genealogy
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Perspective
Fitzpatrick transitioned into genealogical research in 2005 after publishing her own book Forensic Genealogy,[6] aiming to establish the field.[7] Her early work in forensic genealogy pertained to historical and missing persons cases, as Forensic genetic genealogy would not emerge until 2018.[8]
Forensic genealogy uses DNA analysis in combination with traditional non-DNA genealogical research methods to help create leads for unsolved crimes by identifying suspects or victims.[9][10] Forensic genealogy usually relies on public records, historical documents, and a heavy emphasis on familial connections.[11]
Forensic genetic genealogy (FGG), also known as Investigative genetic genealogy (IGG) expands on forensic genealogy by analyzing hundred of thousands of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) across the genome, allowing researchers to compare genetic genealogy databases.[12][13] With this new technology, researchers can compare known DNA and unknown DNA to find individuals that share segments of matching or similar DNA.[13] This allows investigators to potentially identify unknown DNA samples.
Contributions to Forensic Genealogy
Since her career in 2005, Fitzpatrick has helped identify several people, including victims, perpetrators, formerly-unidentified, and more. In doing so, she has created and been a huge factor in organizations and foundations such as Identifinders International,[14] the Porchlight Project,[15] and the DNA Doe Project.[16]
Identifinders International
Shortly after the success of her first book[17] she was asked to locate a married couple in Taiwan due to them fleeing from the state for unpaid taxes.[18] After the deal was made, and she successfully found them, this case would mark the beginning of her relationship with Andy Yeiser.[18] At the time he was an engineer and business management consultant, but over the next few years, they co-founded Identifinders international together.[18]
Formally founded in 2011, Identifinders International's mission is to use investigative genetic genealogy to help law enforcement agencies and the public solve cold cases, conduct identifications and searches, and more.[19] These investigations would lead to identify countless victims, perpetrators of violent crimes, and Jane and John Doe cases.
Fitzpatrick still has an active role in Identifinders International.
Notable contributions:
- 2008 - Misha: a Memoir of the Holocaust Years book fraud.[20]
- 2008 - “The Unknown Child on the Titanic" is Sidney Leslie Goodwin, a 19-month English boy.[18]
- 2008 - Angel at the Fence book, fraud about author's Holocaust survival.[21]
- 2010 - Remains from Northwest Flight 4422 (Alaska Crash in 1948).[22]
- 2011 - 1991 Sarah Yarborough homicide. First known attempt to use genetic genealogy on criminals.[23]
- 2014 - The 1992-1993 Phoenix Canal Murders that lead to Bryan Patrick Miller. First cold case homicide that led to an arrest.[19][24][25]
- 2015 - Amnesiac Identification of Benjamin Kyle. Collab with CeCe Moore.[26]
- 2016 - Lori Ruff. Identity-fraud cold case.[27]
- 2018-2019 - Rapid, City South Dakota rape and murder of Gwen Miller in 1968. Using Y-DNA and Y-chromosome genealogy.[28][29]
- 2020 - Orange County, California cold case solved over 50 years later, and identified the body of Anita Louise Piteau.[30]
- 2020 - The murder of Barbara Blatnik in 1987, first official case for the Porchlight Project,[31] and Identifinders International partnership.[32]
- 2021 - 2003 "Cowboy Hat Bandit," the shooting and killing of Officer Jeff Garner.[33]
- 2022 - 1992 murder of Nona Stamey Cobb in North Carolina. Perpetrator was identified as Warren Luther Alexander. [34]
DNA Doe Project
The DNA Doe Project was co-founded in 2017 by Margaret Press and Colleen Fitzpatrick as a non-profit corporation.[35] The mission was to identify John and Jane Does using forensic genetic genealogy. [35][36] Fitzpatrick also served as the co-executive direct from 2017 to 2020, when she resigned.[37][38]
A year after the project was founded, in 2018 they identified their first John Doe case, identifying Robert Ivan Nichols, who was an identify thief and took on the alias Joseph Newton Chandler. He committed suicide in 2002. [39][40]
Only a month later, in Troy, Ohio, the team would announce and identify the "Buckskin Girl" as Marcia L. King, a women who was murdered in 1981.[39]
More contributions:
- 2018 - Unknown suicide victim from 2001 identified as Lyle Stevik. Restoring identity of the anonymous.[41]
- 2018 - In 2014, a man found dead in Oakland, Maine later identified as Alfred Jake Fuller. [42]
- 2018 - Scattered remains from Anaheim, California in 1987 were identified as Tracey Coreen Hobson. [43]
- 2019 - Ohio homicide investigation from 1981 identify "Belle in the Well" as Louise Virginia Peterson Flesher.[44][45]
- 2019 - The "Mill Creek Shed Man" from 2015 identified as Nathaniel Terrence "Terry" Deggs.[46][47]
- 2019 - Body found in West Chester, Ohio in 2015 identified as Darlene Wilson Norcross. [48][49]
- 2019 - 1982 Nevada homicide identified "Sheep Flat Jane Doe" as Mary Edith Silvani.[50][51]
- 2019 - 1971 Oregon body identified "Annie Doe" as Anne "Annie" Marie Lehman of Aberdeen Washington. [52][53]
- 2020 - 1989 Texas homicide victim identified "Corona Girl" as Sue Ann Huskey. [54][55]
- 2020 - 1980 body in Jones, Oklahoma identified "Lime Lady" as Tamara Lee Tigard.[56][57]
- 2020 - 2016 homicide in Peoria, Illinois identified "Peoria County John Doe" as John H. Frisch Jr..[58][59]
These are only a handful of contributions during Fitzpatrick's term. A total of 65 re-identified John and Jane Does were discovered by the end of 2021.[39]
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Professional associations
She is a Fellow of the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)[60] and an Associate Member of the American Academy of Forensic Science.[61] In 2021, Dr. Fitzpatrick was made a full member of the Vidocq Society, make her one of 82 full members, a number set by the society's charter.
Awards and Honors
- 2007 - International Society of Family Writers and Editors (ISFHWE) 2nd Place. "Genealogy Meets CSI," Family Tree Magazine. [62]
- 2007 - Fellow, Society of Photoinstrumentation Engineers (SPIE).[62]
- 2007 - Awarded Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory Service Medal for the 1948 Northwest Flight 4422 identification.[63][62]
- 2008 - International Society of Family History Writers and Editors (ISFHWE) 1st Place. "Clues Around the House," Ancestry Magazine.[62]
- 2010 - International Society of Family History Writers and Editors (ISFHWE) 1st Place. "One Man, Two Names, Three Families," Ancestry Magazine.[62]
- 2018 - Gordon Honeywell Thomas Cold Case Hit of the Year Competition. 5th Place. For the 1991-1993 Phoenix Canal Murders. [64][65]
- 2019 - U.S. Marshals of Northern District of Ohio, Citizen of the Year Award. For the identification of Joseph Newton Chandler. [66][67][68]
- 2020 - Gordon Honeywell Thomas Cold Case Hit of the Year Competition. 5th Place. For the 1991 Sarah Yarborough Homicide.[69][65]
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Selected works
- Books
- Forensic Genealogy, with Andrew Yeiser, Fountain Valley, CA: Rice Book Press, 2005. ISBN 0-9767160-0-3
- DNA and Genealogy, with Andrew Yeiser, Fountain Valley, CA: Rice Book Press, 2005. ISBN 0-9767160-1-1
- The Dead Horse Investigation: Forensic Photo Analysis for Everyone, Fountain Valley, CA: Rice Book Press, 2008. ISBN 0-9767160-5-4
- The DNA Detective,
- Book chapters
- "The Key is the Camera". The Desperate Genealogist's Idea Book: Creative Ways to Outsmart Your Elusive Ancestors. DeadFred.com. 2006. ISBN 1-4243-0209-9.
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See also
References
External links
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