Genealogy DNA is used to identify a murder victim from 1988 — and her killer

Law enforcement officials in Georgia used genealogy DNA to identify a murder victim and her killer in a 1988 case that had been unsolved for decades.

Georgia Bureau of Investigation special agent in charge Joe Montgomery said it was unique. You live with these cases as an agent.

The body found on a Georgia highway in 1988 was that of a Michigan woman who had been missing for more than 30 years.

For years, authorities couldn't figure out who the woman was, until they used genealogy to find her identity.

The other question that remained in the case was whether or not Chahorski had been killed by Henry Fredrick Wise.

Officials said that Wise was identified through genealogy.

At the crime scene, law enforcement officials found what they believed to be the killer's genetic material, but they couldn't link it to a person.

Authorities sent the suspect's genetic material to a specialized lab, which created a genealogy profile for the suspect and gave investigators new leads to look for.

A living family member was interviewed, cooperated, and a DNA match was confirmed, according to the FBI.

Killer's previous arrests preceded mandatory DNA testing

His route through Tennessee and Alabama would have taken him to the place where Chahorski's body was found. In 1999, Wise died in a car crash.

Before mandatory DNA testing was required after a felony arrest, Wise's arrests came before that.

Law enforcement agencies have begun using genealogy DNA to investigate cold cases because it allows them to use similarities in the genetic profiles of family members to identify potential suspects.

The technique was used to identify the Golden State Killer and has led to other discoveries.

Some critics worry that the few safeguards that exist for using available genealogy databases could lead to abuses.

The FBI agent in charge suggested that this wouldn't be the last cold case that federal investigators solved using genetic genealogy.

She said that this would serve as a warning to murderers, rapists and violent offenders. The FBI and our partners are going to keep fighting. It may take a long time, but we will always seek justice for the victims and their families.