With the continuous advancement of DNA analysis technology, breakthroughs have been made in several decades-old cold cases in Quebec in the past year, bringing a turning point to the investigation of long-unsolved cold cases. Marie-Chantale Desjardins, only 10 years old, was murdered north of Montreal in 1994. On the day of the incident, she disappeared while riding her bicycle home from a friend’s house.
Four days later, police found her badly injured body next to a tree nearby. The case remained unsolved for over 30 years. This year, Real Kurtmarsh was convicted of second-degree murder, with the judge clearly stating that key evidence came from significant technological advancements in the field of forensic biology. Diana Segan, head of the DNA department at the Quebec Laboratory for Forensic Sciences and Justice, said the lab analyses about 50 cold cases each year and has helped police solve 8 to 10 cases in the past one to two years. She pointed out that the breakthroughs mainly come from more sophisticated DNA extraction techniques and “genetic pedigree”—comparing DNA from crime scenes with genetic data uploaded to open databases by the public.
Currently, the laboratory processes 30,000 to 40,000 pieces of physical evidence annually and uploads approximately 4,000 to 5,000 DNA files to the national crime scene DNA database. Whether it’s an old or new case, investigations typically begin with database comparisons, and in some cases, DNA can be re-extracted from evidence that was not tested decades ago.
Genetic pedigree technology has also been used in other cases. Last September, police used the method to identify a suspect in the murder of 26-year-old Catherine Davio, who was killed in Montreal in 2008; Quebec police also filed charges this year in a 1979 home invasion murder case and confirmed the identity of a body found in 1997.
A 10-year-old girl in Canada was brutally murdered; the perpetrator has finally been punished 30 years later. Segan emphasized that genetic pedigree can only provide investigative clues; a final verdict still requires the police to supplement evidence. She hopes that this technology will be used more extensively in ongoing cases to prevent crimes from becoming cold cases over time.
Some experts believe that as DNA technology and database coverage continue to expand, the concept of “cold cases” may gradually decrease in the future.