Official Press Release From DNA Doe Project to American Crime Journal
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Cold case victim identified by genetic genealogy
Phoenix, AZ – February 3, 2020 – The DNA Doe Project (DDP), working with the Phoenix Police Department (PPD), has identified a previously unnamed middle-aged female whose remains were found on April 21, 2004 in a rolled-up carpet near 43 rd Avenue and Baseline Road in Phoenix as Ginger Lynn Bibb. Attempts by PPD to identify her via fingerprints were unsuccessful, and the case went cold.
In April 2019 Det. Stuart Somershoe of PPD contacted the DNA Doe Project. DDP received the autosomal SNP profile in September 2019. Using the genetic genealogy database GEDmatch and an extensive search of available records, DDP’s team of volunteer genetic genealogists developed Bibb as a likely candidate within a day and a half.
As Cairenn Binder, the team leader for the case, explained, “Ginger’s DNA matches were not very close, but our team was lucky and found a link between families which helped us to solve her case quickly.” Several weeks later Det. Somershoe contacted the victim’s family who agreed to submit DNA for testing.
In January 2020 the test results confirmed the Phoenix Jane Doe as Ginger Lynn Bibb. DDP wishes to acknowledge the groups and individuals who helped solve this case: Det. Stuart Somershoe and the Phoenix Police Department, who entrusted the case to us; Investigator Christen Eggers of the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office; Bode Cellmark Forensics, Inc., who performed the DNA extraction; HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology who completed the sequencing; Dr. Gregory Magoon, Senior Research Engineer, Aerodyne Research Corp. (contracting through Full Genomes Corp.) for his bioinformatics work; GEDMatch for providing their database; and the DNA Doe Project’s team of talented volunteers.
Det. Somershoe suggests that anyone with tips regarding this case can contact Silent Witness, http://www.silentwitness.org.
About the DNA Doe Project
The DNA Doe Project, Inc. is an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to identify John and Jane Does and return them to their families. Although the genealogy research is pro bono, DDP relies on donations to fund the lab costs when agencies cannot afford them. To date DDP volunteers have made over two dozen confirmed identifications. Discover more at https://dnadoeproject.org/
