Gilgo Beach serial killer case a key test in use of advanced DNA techniques in criminal trials | National News

RIVERHEAD, N.Y. (AP) — When Maureen Brainard-Barnes’ skeletal remains were found hidden in the roadside scrub near Long Island’s Gilgo Beach in the winter of 2010, there was hardly any physical evidence that might help investigators find her killer, save for a single stray hair.

But at the time, extracting DNA evidence from the degraded strand was beyond the capabilities of crime labs. Investigators kept looking for other clues that might help them identify a suspected serial killer who had scattered women’s bodies along a coastal parkway.

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