DNA that cracked 'Golden State Killer' case came from genealogy websites
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- According to officials, DNA from ancestry websites led to the arrest of the suspected "Golden State Killer," Joseph James DeAngelo. Officers surveilled DeAngelo for several days prior to his arrest.
DeAngelo is accused of 45 rapes and 15 murders.
Sacramento County District Attorney's officials confirmed the reports and told ABC7 News that their investigation is ongoing and they will not be giving further information on the DNA at this time.
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Ancestry websites 23andMe and Ancestry.com released statements on the findings, saying mainly that they do not know if their services aided in the arrest of DeAngelo.
Here is the full statement from 23andMe: We have not received inquiries regarding this case. Broadly speaking it's our policy to resist any law enforcement inquiries with all legal and practical means at our disposal. We have had a handful of inquiries over the years, and have never given customer information to law enforcement officials.
We don't know how California police identified this person, but it wasn't through our database. We didn't work with law enforcement on this case, they didn't contact us.
Here is the full statement from Ancestry.com: Ancestry advocates for its members' privacy and will not share any information with law enforcement unless compelled to by valid legal process, such as a court order or search warrant. Additionally, we publish law enforcement requests in our transparency report annually. It's important to note that in all of 2015, 2016, and 2017 we received no valid legal requests for genetic information.
At this point, DeAngelo has only been charged for two counts of murder for the death of a Sacramento area couple in 1978, but police promise more charges.
