Speaker 1: What's up everyone, and welcome back to the program. In
this episode, we're taking a dive right back into those
core documents and we're going to take a look at
the notice of filing Affidavid of Leo Larkin in support
of defendant's third motion to compel. So what this is
is the defense Brian Colberger's team. This is one of
their experts who is putting in an Affidavid of support
for the defense to get a look at the genealogical
and DNA evidence that's been collected. So let's get into
this document and let's see what Brian Coolberger and his
team are bringing to the table. Case number c R
twenty nine DASH twenty two DASH twenty eight oh five
Notice of filing Affidavid of LEYA. Larkin in support of
defendants third motion to compel The State of Idaho Plaintiff first,
Brian C. Coberger. The defendant comes now Brian C. Koberg
buy and threw his attorney of record and C. Taylor,
public defender, and hereby files the attached affid David of LEA.
Larkin in support of the Defendant's third motion to compel.
This was dated on August ninth of twenty twenty three,
and it was signed by Ann Taylor. The next document
is the Affid David of Leah Larkin Case number c
R twenty nine DASH twenty two DASH twenty eight oh
five the State of Idaho Plaintiff verse Brian C. Coberger
the defendant, State of California, County of Alameda. One. I
am an adult over the age of eighteen, and I
have personal knowledge of the facts set forth in the
Affid David two. I have been engaged as an expert
in the above entitled matter since July twenty seventh, twenty
twenty three three. I am a genetic genealogist, having practiced
genetic genealogy since twenty fourteen. My educational background is a
bachelor's degree in biology and a PhD in botany. My
curriculum VITA is attached. As a genetic genealogist. I have
a clear understanding of how genetic genealogy works. I have
developed tools that are in widespread use by genealogy practitioners.
Number four. Genetic genealogy is best described as the use
of DNA data to evaluate biological relationships. There are three
categories of genealogical DNA testing. Why chromosome DNA direct paternal
line only, mitochondrial DNA direct maternal line only, and autosomal
DNA all branches of a pedigree. A genetic genealogist integrates
information from these DNA tests with genealogical documentation to reveal
or corroborate relationships. Genetic genealogy primarily uses autosomal DNA tests
that were originally designed for biomedical research. Since twenty three
and Meters brought their health test to the consumer market
in late two thousand and seven, family Tree DNA, Ancestry DNA,
my Heritage, and a handful of smaller companies have launched
their own genetic genealogy products. These companies all provide genealogy
tools to their customers on their websites and also produce
a raw DNA data file that the customer can download.
The raw data file contains the genetic profile for that customer.
This genetic profile is not the same as an STR
profile that is commonly uploaded to codis in a forensic
DNA analysis number six. Most of the human genome is
identical across all people. Only the DNA positions at very
between individuals are useful for genealogy. These variable positions are
called single nucleotide polymorphisms SNP pronounced SNIP. The direct to
consumer genealogy companies use a type of test called a
micro array that samples roughly six hundred thousand of these
DNA SNPs. Unlike the str markers used for matching in CODIS,
SNPs can convey information about medical and physical traits, as
well as biological relationships to close and distant cousins number seven.
A micro array SNP profile is sometimes called a kit.
Once the lab test is complete, the genealogy company compares
the new kit to those already in its database, looking
for long stretches of SNPs that are compatible. The company
then presents these matches in a list sorted by the
amount of shared DNA measured in Cena Morgans abbreviated CM
number eight. A standard DNA micro array requires approximately two
hundred enngs of quality DNA. That quality and quantity is
often not available from crime scenes or degraded human remains. Instead,
specialized laboratories can generate an SNP profile through a more
complex process. First, they attempt to sequence the entire genome
using Next generation sequencing NGS technology. This technology works a
bit like skimming while reading a document. On the first pass,
NGS technology will not capture all of the data, and
it may make mistakes. NGS involves repeated passes called coverage
to get more accurate results. For human genome sequences thirty
times to fifty times, the coverage is recommended Number nine.
Once the NNGS file is obtained, it must be manipulated
through bioinformatics to make it compatible with the genealogy databases.
The extra data must be stripped out to just the
SNPs that the genealogy companies test, and missing or ambiguous
data must be inferred using statistical methods. The kit is
then uploaded to a genealogy database and evaluated. A poor
quality kit might have too few matches, or it might
have phantom matches that are not real measures of relationship.
Often bioinformatics step must be repeated. This trial and error
process can take several tries to produce a kit that
works well in a genealogy database. Number ten. Only ged Match,
Family Tree DNA and some smaller entities allow crime scene
and human RENS main samples to be uploaded. The terms
of service of Ancestry DNA twenty three in Meters and
My Heritage prohibit forensic investigative genetic genealogy in their databases. However,
in the absence of an effective oversight, forensic genetic genealogists
are on an honor system to obey the terms of
service and the Department of Justice Interim Policy on forensic
genetic genealogy. Number eleven. Each of the genealogy databases compares
the users DNA data to all of the other data
files in their database, then presents a list of DNA
matches who share meaningful amounts of DNA. The match list
includes the match name or elias, how much DNA they
share in Senta morgans, and occasionally a link to a
family tree that the match has voluntarily provided. Number twelve.
The genetic genealogy databases are siloed from one another. If
you test at ancestry DNA and your sibling tests at
twenty three in meter, you will not be matched to
one another because you are not in the same database.
Ged match is a third party site that functions as
a genetic genealogy commons. A user can upload their raw
DNA data file from their testing company and find matches
to people who upload to ged match. From different companies
like ged match. Family Tree, DNA and my heritage also
allow uploads of raw data files, and ancestry DNA and
twenty three in me do not thirteen. Broadly speaking, the
more DNA two people share, the more closely they are related.
The correlation is not perfect, though, any given sent the
Morgan amount can represent more than one possible relationship. The
testing companies suggest probable relationships, but experience genetic genealogy typically
use the online Shared CM tool shown at right for
a hypothetical match of two hundred cms to see mathematical
probabilities of different relationships for a given center Morgan amount.
Note that there are nearly twenty possible relationships listed for
a match of two hundred CM, which is considered a
fairly close match. Number fourteen adoptees have used genetic genealogy
DNA tests to identify their biological families for roughly fifteen
years now. The same methods used for people with unknown
parentage can be used to identify forensic samples from a
crime scene or unidentified human remains. Unlike standard forensic SDR tests,
which are used to identify individuals, genetic genealogy testing identifies
possible relatives number fifteen. First, the genealogist attempts build family
trees from the DNA matches of the person of interest,
starting with the closest matches. Relatively few users at ged
match and family tree DNA post their pedigrees there, so
the genealogists must build trees for them. We attempt to
identify the match using their screen name and email address.
Then we search public records, social media, obituaries, news articles,
and genealogy websites to build out their tree through their parents, grandparents,
and so on. Most genetic genealogists build these so called
research trees at ancestry dot com number sixteen. The goal
of building trees is to figure out how two or
more matches are related to one another. For example, if
the person of interest matches two people who share a
great grandparent couple, making them second cousins to one another,
the genealogists now knows which branch of their tree is
relevant to the search. The person of interest could be
descended from that couple, or the connection could be one
or more generations further back through either the husband or
the wife in that couple. Number seventeen. Once several of
the DNA matches have been connected to one another, the
genealogists must figure out how the person of interest fits
into the tree of those matches. We use age, sex,
geographic location, and other circumstantial evidence alongside the DNA based
relationship predictions. A statistical tool called what are the Odds
can analyze multiple DNA matches together to evaluate where the
person of interest best fits into the tree based on
the amounts of shared DNA number eighteen. What are the
Odds is not intended to give a definitive answer. Rather,
it points the genealogists toward the most likely branches in
the tree for further research. The tool is also not
appropriate for all circumstances. For example, it is not intended
for populations that married within themselves, for double cousins, or
when most of the matches are below forty CM number nineteen.
The genealogist needs to do this for both the maternal
and paternal sides of the person of interest pedigree. Often
this involves building dozens of trees and performing several what
are the odds analysis. We are looking for instances where
a descendant in one DNA family tree married a descendant
in another DNA family tree, because those unions point to
where the person of interest might fit in to the
family tree. Often, the best we can do with the
existing DNA matches is to focus on a set of
cousins as candidates. Then more DNA testing is required Number
twenty This process can vary in complexity depending on the
individual starting point. In doing this type of research, the
genetic genealogist will generate numerous documents to ensure an adequate
paper trail. This paper trail can include the list of
DNA matches, the research tree with genealogical documentation, public record
searches for members of the DNA family, correspondence with DNA matches,
descending diagrams showing how the DNA matches are related to
one another, and what are the odds analysis. The documentation
is necessary and important for the following reasons. DNA matches
sometimes hide their profiles. An error in the tree can
mislead the genealogist and the descendant. Diagrams and what are
the odds analysis are usually updated repeatedly during a search.
Number twenty one. As a genetic genealogist, I have learned
about the power and the privacy implications of genetic genealogy.
The tests themselves were designed to reveal biomedical information and
can also reveal family secrets about the tester. In many cases,
private information can be inferred about the DNA relatives of
the tester as well. For those reasons, leaders in the
genetic genealogy community develop standards that emphasize consent and privacy.
Number twenty two. I am aware of the Department of
Justice interim policy to limit when forensic genetic genealogy can
be used and which databases are accessible to law enforcement.
It is possible for the databases to be utilized in
a way that circumvents these core principles. Notably, I'm aware
of a case in which the chain of custody failed
and the wrong SNP profile was sent to the wrong client.
Investigative genetic genealogists uploading SNP profiles to a forbidden database
in violation of that company's terms of service, and the
Department of Justice in our own policy c forensic genetic
genealogy being used for a case that did not meet
the Department of Justices threshold d Investigative genetic genealogists using
security loopholes to see DNA kids who are opted out
of forensic matching at ged match N family Tree DNA
E A case in which an SNP profile was performed
on an innocent woman, a potential Fourth Amendment violation to
a write to privacy and uploaded to ged match without
her knowledge or consent. Number twenty three Having access to
the data and the methods used to identify someone will
provide answers to a compliance with Department of Justice policies.
B how a DNA sample was handled from the time
of collection through its forensic genetic genealogy testing C, the
process of SNP creation, D the use of the SNP
profile E. The use or lack thereof of loopholes and
violations of terms of service to the various genetic genealogy databases. Further,
you're affient saith not dated this eighth day of August
twenty twenty three and signed by Leah Larkin. Now after this,
there's a bunch of pages of her schooling and what
she has done as a professional. We're not going to
dive into all of that, but the link, like usual,
will be in the description box if you'd like to
go and take a look. All right, folks, that's going
to do it for this one. All of The information
that goes with this episode can be found in the
description box.