Man Identified Through Genealogy Pleads Guilty to 2017 Maryland Murder

[Sevens My Charm]

A man identified using genealogy pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of 26-year-old Matthew Mickens-Murrey in 2017.

Police asked to check on Mickens-Murrey’s welfare when no one could reach him for a few days after a Black gay pride weekend in D.C.

They found him stabbed to death in his apartment in the 5400 block of Newton Street in the unincorporated area of Hyattsville, Maryland.


Brandon Biagas was developed as a suspect when the ancestry search on DNA discovered in the victim's apartment was connected to a bloody knife found in Biagas' truck.

Per the plea agreement, Biagas would get no more than 17 years in prison.

Man Identified Through Genealogy Pleads Guilty to 2017 Maryland Murder

While police aren’t calling a Maryland man’s homicide a hate crime, the LGBTQ community is worried.

www.nbcwashington.com

 

[Sejanus]

Wait, so he still hung on to the murder knife?
Derp.
Lethal injection, with a harpoon.

 

[Ramona the brave]

Wait, so he still hung on to the murder knife?
Derp.
Lethal injection, with a harpoon.

I'm so confused. Where does the knife come in? It kind of sounds like they meant regular old DNA evidence, not genealogy, no?

 

[Sejanus]

I'm so confused. Where does the knife come in? It kind of sounds like they meant regular old DNA evidence, not genealogy, no?

All articles on this from the area are quite poorly written.
Must be something in the water.

The discovery of a knife with the vics blood on it was found in the back of the suspects truck.
Just not clear if it was years ago or recently.
It sounds like it was still in the truck 3 years after the 2017 crime, which would be amazingly stupid.

The DNA testing was on blood (or other bodily fluids) in the victim's apartment that eventually matched the suspect.

More background on this here...

Here's how a $470k grant could help Prince George's County solve cold cases

With this grant money, the county plans to use new forensic DNA genealogy technology to bring answers to families who have been waiting years for justice.

www.wusa9.com

Still a heap of cold cases there though.

 

[thuumpr]

How was the suspect supposed to know that the cops would tie him with the murder since he had a dozen or so bloody knives in his truck...

 

[Mountaineer95]

Genetic genealogy used in a case as recent as 2017?

SCIENCE is closing the “cold case” duration. Yay!

 

[Inferus]

Part of me wonders why Dexter: The New Blood didn't have Dex working for Ancestry.com.

 

[Metalfan]

Part of me wonders why Dexter: The New Blood didn't have Dex working for Ancestry.com.

Trinity will always be my favorite,perfect season, but her royal Hotness,Rita had to die!....