Fountaindale Public Library

I know who you are, how an amateur DNA sleuth unmasked the Golden State Killer and changed crime fighting forever, Barbara Rae-Venter

eng

no index present

non fiction

I know who you are

1315740228

Barbara Rae-Venter

how an amateur DNA sleuth unmasked the Golden State Killer and changed crime fighting forever

For twelve years he terrorized California, stalking victims and killing without remorse. Then he simply disappeared, for 44 years, until Barbara Rae-Venter, an amateur DNA sleuth, opened her laptop and cracked the most infamous cold case in American history - that of the Golden State Killer - an changed the course of criminal investigations forever. In this book, the author reveals how she went from researching her family history as a retiree to hunting for a notorious serial killer - and how she became the nation's leading authority on investigative genetic genealogy, the most dazzling new crime-fighting weapon to appear in decades. Rae-Venter leads readers on a vivid journey through the many cases she tackled, often starting with little more than a DNA sample. From the first criminal case she ever solved - uncovering the long-lost identity of a child abductee - to the heartbreaking story of the Billboard Boy, whos unidentified remains were dumped along a highway, to the search for the Golden State Killer, Rae-Venter shares haunting, thrilling accounts of how she helped solve some of America's most chilling cold cases in the span of just three years. For each investigation, Rae-Venter brings readers inside her unique "grasshopper mind" as she analyzes DNA data and pores through obituaries, marriage records, and old newspaper articles. Readers join in on urgent calls with sheriffs, FBI agents, and district attorneys as she details the struggle to obtain usable crime scene DNA samples, until, finally, a critical piece of the puzzle tumbles into place. This book captures both the exhilaration of the moment of discovery and the sheer dept of emotion that lingers around cold cases, informing Rae-Venter's careful approach to her work. It is a story of relentless curiosity, of constant invention and reinvention, and of human beings striving to answer the most elemental questions about themselves: What defines identity? Where do we belong? And are we truly who we think we are?

Part one: Lisa Jensen, January 2015 -- Part two: the Bear Brook murders, January 2017 -- Part three: the Golden State Killer, March 2017 -- Part four: the Clearfield rapist and the boy under the billboard, October 2017 -- Part five: Seattle baby boy Doe and precious Jane Doe, July 2018 -- Part six: home

adult