AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Golden State Killer case, yogurt shop murders and the Bear Brook murders: they’re all cases solved with the help of DNA testing or forensic genealogy. Now, the rapidly-evolving technology and process of combining DNA analysis with genealogical research has law enforcement across Texas reinvestigating many of the state’s thousands of unsolved criminal cases.
This week on the premiere episode of Unsolved: Central Texas, Avery Travis sits down with Staff Lt. Trampas Gooding, who leads the Texas Rangers’ Unsolved Crimes Investigation Program.
Lt. Gooding explains how very recent advancements in DNA analysis have pushed cold case investigators to retest evidence, even if it was tested in recent years. He also gives an insider’s perspective into the process of cold case investigations, addresses concerns around privacy related to genetic genealogy and talks about the barriers facing investigators working to close Texas’s most enduring cold cases.
New episodes of Unsolved: Central Texas launch every Thursday at 1 p.m. on the KXAN+ streaming app. To download KXAN+, search KXAN on your preferred streaming device, including Roku, Apple TV, Samsung and Amazon Fire TV. You can also find all episodes of Unsolved: Central Texas on-demand in the KXAN+ Original Programs category anytime on KXAN+.
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