Attorneys General in several states have urged customers of genetic genealogy company 23andMe to delete their data, after the company filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy, paving the way for a sale. But even if you delete your data from 23andMe you can still download it for yourself and use it in other ways.
Genetic genealogy is extremely helpful in solving cold cases, former Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrisey said. Morrisey founded the company United Data Connect in 2017. Genealogists with his company use the DNA data that people have shared and match it to DNA found at a rape or murder scene.
Even if it’s a distant cousin, genealogists can trace their common ancestry and ultimately identify possible suspects. Morrisey said the company doesn't get the name of the person who matched or even their full DNA profile.
“And we never release the names of live people that are in those family trees. We redact that out. A lot of this information is destroyed because, remember, it's just a lead,” Morrisey said.
His company never worked directly with 23andMe because 23andMe doesn’t share data with law enforcement. But a lot of people have voluntarily shared their data from 23andMe or similar sites with a service called GedMatch. GedMatch has helped solve major criminal cases, notably the Golden State Killer case in California.
Morrisey said if more people shared data with GedMatch, they could solve more cases.
“We could get the solve rate on these cases up to about 90%, it's about 65% now,” Morrisey said.
He encouraged people to download their data from 23andMe before asking the company to delete it and then share it with GedMatch, in case it can be used to help solve crimes. Morrisey said most of the relatives his company identifies are distant cousins from the individual involved in the crime.
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