Attempting to clear some of the approximately 21,000 unsolved murder cases in Florida, the Office of Statewide Prosecution is contracting with Othram, a Texas-based forensic technology company specializing in human identification.
Othram’s DNA detection technology is expected to provide new leads through forensic genetic genealogy, according to a release from the Attorney General’s office.
Attorney General James Uthmeier outlined the partnership while at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement regional operations center in Miami on Wednesday.
“As we continue to prove this new technology works, we’re able to track DNA evidence through family trees to catch bad guys, my hope is we’ll continue to put more resources and attention into it,” Uthmeier said.
Uthmeier said the state is using grants from his office to pay for the program.
The release from Uthmeier’s office notes that in addition to the unsolved cases, the state has nearly 900 cases with unidentified human remains.