LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — An arrest has been made in a serial rape case that began more than a decade ago, and a relatively new type of DNA technology reportedly played a key role.
George Wayne Aldridge, 52, of Lawrenceburg was arrested late last week and charged with two counts of rape, two counts of sodomy, three counts of kidnapping of an adult, two counts of sexual abuse, and one count of wanton endangerment.
It was a case that stemmed from at least three incidents reported between 2009 and 2016, according to the Lexington Police Department.
LEX 18 learned that forensic genetic genealogy, or FGG, was used in the serial rape case.
FGG goes beyond traditional DNA comparison methods, which typically look for a direct DNA match or a match to a close relative.
Instead, it looks at more locations within the DNA from the sample and compares it against a database with the ability to find connections to distant relatives. Through building a family tree, human remains or a possible suspect can be identified.
LEX 18 recently visited the Kentucky State Police forensic lab in Frankfort to learn more about FGG. Kentucky State Police crime lab director Laura Sudcamp and lab supervisor Whitney Collins explained the process and how it differs from the standard DNA testing that the lab does in-house.
“We are looking at a very small number of locations, they are looking at the entire strand of the DNA,” Sudkamp said. “And it lets you look into those comparisons to thousands, millions of people who have their info loaded into the same place.”
Then, it’s up to the police to see if the identification makes sense within the rest of the evidence.
The Kentucky State Police crime lab is not equipped to do FGG testing, so it sends samples they’ve collected to outside companies.
One of those isOthram, a Texas-based companythat uses FGG to generate leads for law enforcement agencies around the country.
Othram’s chief development officer Dr. Kristen Mittelman said that the testing done by the company helps exclude possibilities through building family trees and getting other clues from the DNA.
The FGG testing alone doesn’t solve a case or identify remains. Once a possible identity is found, it is then investigated further and put through confirmatory DNA testing, Mittelman said.
“Each time we return an investigative lead, whether it’s a perpetrator or a victim that we’re identifying, law enforcement confirms that result,” Mittelman said. “They contextualize it within their investigation – does it make sense, was that person in the area.”
FGG testing is expensive – with one case costing thousands of dollars. It’s a method that’s not fully funded federally and generally not funded at all on the state level, Mittelman said.
To help fill the gap, Othram has an advocacy site called DNA Solves. It details cases that need funding around the country, including one in Lexington, and allows people to donate.
The company works closely with law enforcement and only lists cases for crowd-funding that are believed to be likely candidates for a successful identification.
“The truth is that science is here today to solve a lot of these unidentified remains cases,” Mittelman said. “And unfortunately the only thing that’s missing between these people remaining voiceless and not having their identity back is funding, and that shouldn’t be the case.”
