DENVER — A cold case spanning more than two decades was cracked by Weld County detectives recently thanks to genetic genealogy, a spokesperson with the sheriff’s office announced Wednesday.
Though deputies were not able to find evidence of foul play, the man’s remains were sent to a forensic anthropologist who determined they were of a Caucasian man between 35-50 years of age who was around 5 feet and 4 inches tall. Those remains would be locked away for 22 years until they were taken out of storage and analyzed using forensic genetic genealogy, which led to relatives in Nevada who willingly submitted their DNA to help solve the case.
“This case was as cold as they get. There was no evidence other than the human remains,” said Weld County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Detective Byron Kastilahn. “If not for forensic genetic genealogy, Christopher Case would not have ever been identified.”