Forensic Genetic Genealogy Project version December 2023

This research seeks to collect all publicly available information concerning cases that were successfully cleared through forensic investigative genetic genealogy (FIGG), going back as far as possible in time and ending on December 31, 2023. Cases were selected for inclusion in the dataset through internet searches, discussion boards related to genetic genealogy, missing persons, and cold cases, as well as press releases and blog posts from private companies and non-profit organizations known to perform FIGG, publications devoted to advances in forensic science, and published court records. Cases were chosen for inclusion in the sample only if a public authority had confirmed that FIGG was used to clear the investigation, and the investigation met the following definition of FIGG: 1. Investigative Body: The investigation was led by a public, and not a private, authority, such as a law enforcement agency or a coroner/medical examiner’s office. 2. Investigative Techniques: The investigation must use the techniques of genomics, computer database technologies, and traditional genealogy. Cases were included when family lineages were drawn out to at least three or more generations. The sample includes investigations that use Y-chromosome STR profiles and/or mitochondrial DNA profiles to trace the paternal and maternal lineages of persons of interest. Cases solved through familial searching of law enforcement databases were excluded from the sample, as this technique raises separate legal and ethical issues. 3. Investigative Purpose: The investigation must be for a forensic purpose, meaning that the evidence thus produced is relevant to an ongoing legal dispute. Most cases considered here are for the identification of perpetrators of criminal offences or the identification of decedents but can also include the identification of living does. Not included in this data are cases that are of purely historical interest, or the identification of unknown soldiers by military authorities. The term ‘forensic genetic genealogy’ has been chosen for this project in preference to the broader, and more generic term ‘investigative genetic genealogy’, which has also been used, to highlight the fact that these investigations are directed towards an ongoing legal dispute before the public legal system. 4. Causation: This database only includes cases that have been successfully cleared using FIGG. The resolution of any investigation – particularly very large and lengthy investigations as were many of the cases described in this data – has many causes. To be included here, the FIGG investigation must have played a significant causal role in the resolution of the case. More complete information about how the data was coded, as well as an annotated bibliography and a short digest of each case, can be found in the Code Book below. You may read a short digest of each case cleared, including references for all data collected, in the Case Digests.

本研究旨在收集所有可公开获取的、通过法医侦查遗传家谱学（forensic investigative genetic genealogy, FIGG）成功侦破的案件相关信息，追溯时间尽可能久远，截止至2023年12月31日。
本数据集的案件通过多渠道筛选入选，包括互联网检索、与遗传家谱学、失踪人口及积案相关的论坛、已知开展法医侦查遗传家谱学业务的私营企业与非营利组织发布的新闻稿及博客文章、专注法医科学进展的出版物，以及公开的法庭记录。
仅当公共权威机构确认使用法医侦查遗传家谱学侦破案件，且案件符合以下法医侦查遗传家谱学定义时，方可入选本数据集：
1. 侦查主体：侦查工作由公共而非私人机构主导，例如执法机构或验尸官/法医办公室。
2. 侦查技术：必须运用基因组学、计算机数据库技术与传统家谱学技术。当绘制的家族谱系至少达到三代及以上时，即可纳入本数据集。样本涵盖利用Y染色体短串联重复序列（Y-chromosome STR, Y-STR）谱和/或线粒体DNA谱追踪涉案人员父系与母系血统的侦查工作。通过执法数据库亲缘搜索侦破的案件被排除在外，因为该技术存在独立的法律与伦理争议。
3. 侦查目的：必须以法医为目的，即所获证据与正在进行的法律纠纷相关。本数据集收录的案件大多用于确认刑事犯罪行为人或身份不明死者的身份，也可包括确认身份不明的在世人员。纯历史研究相关案件，或军事机构为确认阵亡士兵身份开展的侦查工作，均不在本数据集收录范围内。本项目选用“法医侦查遗传家谱学”这一术语，而非更宽泛通用的“侦查遗传家谱学”（该术语也曾被使用），旨在强调此类侦查工作指向公共法律体系下的正在进行的法律纠纷。
4. 因果关联：本数据库仅收录通过法医侦查遗传家谱学成功侦破的案件。任何案件的侦破——尤其是本数据集中提及的诸多规模庞大、耗时冗长的案件——往往由多重因素促成。入选本数据集的案件，其侦查过程中的法医侦查遗传家谱学工作必须对案件侦破起到了显著的因果作用。
关于本数据集的编码细则、带注释的参考文献列表，以及每起案件的简要摘要，均可在下文的《编码手册》中查阅。用户可在《案件摘要》板块中查阅每起侦破案件的简要摘要，以及所有已收集数据的引用来源。