The arrest of filmmaker Michael Usry, known for his violent, murder-centered films, has made many headlines. Last year he was suspected in the 1996 murder of a young woman in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Idaho authorities found a „partial match“ between the DNA found at the crime scene and the DNA Usry’s father submitted to a private genetics company for commercial DNA testing. Authorties then searched for his close relatives and narrowed down on Usry, claiming that he had ties to the area where the crime was committed and that his violent filmography was suspicious. However, after Usry submitted his DNA to authorities it didn’t match and he was cleared.
This case highlights concerns over privacy laws of commercial DNA testing and the controversial technique known as familial searching that was used in this case. Two companies owning private DNA databases acknowledge that upon a court order, they have turned DNA information over to authorities and would do so again. Concerns not only involve law enforcement but also whether those companies were going to sell the DNA to drug companies or insurance companies.
As the cost of DNA analysis gets cheaper, it can be expected that the use of familial DNA searching is also going to increase.
Source: Popular Science