DNA from Beethoven's Hair Provides Clues to His Health Problems and How He Died

Photo: Martin Meissner/AP PhotoStrands of hair from Ludwig van Beethoven have revealed what may have led to the classical music composer’s death.A study published in the peer-reviewed scientific journalCurrent Biologyfound that the great musicianhad a “genetic predisposition for liver disease"after sampling Beethoven’s hair for DNA sequencing. That, coupled with his alcohol consumption, could have been what led him to have severe liver disease later on in his life, which ultimately resulted in his death at the age of 56 on March 26, 1827.

DNA Helps California Police Identify Suspect in Cold-Case 1972 Death of 11-Year-Old Girl

Photo: Torrance Police Department California police have identified a suspect in a 46-year-old cold case murder of an 11-year-old girl who disappeared on a bike ride. Jake Edward Brown was identified as the killer of the child, Terri Lynn Hollis, using genetic geneology: the same type of investigative technique that was used to capture Golden State Killer suspect Joseph James DeAngelo in 2018. “His DNA was a 1 in 20 septillion match to the evidence collected from Terri Lynn Hollis,” Torrance Police Chief Eve Irvine said at a press conference Wednesday.

DNA Identifies 2 Victims in Texas 'Killing Fields' Case as Police Hunt for a Serial Killer

Audrey Lee Cook, Donna Gonsoulin Prudhomme.Photo: League City Police For more than 30 years, police wondered about the identities of two women whose bodies were discovered in an overgrown stretch of land known to local residents as the “killing fields.” The first body was identified as 16-year-old Clear Creek High School sophomore Laura Miller, who was last seen at a pay phone nearly two years earlier. The other body would remain unidentified and known as Jane Doe.

DNA Leads to Arrest in Nearly 20-Year-Old California Cold Case

Photo:Modesto Police Department/Facebook Modesto Police Department/Facebook A California man was arrested in connection to a 2004 homicide after DNA linked him to the shooting, according to authorities. Justin Guice, 38, emerged as a suspect after modern techniques helped authorities obtain a DNA profile, Modesto Police Department said in apress release. After being brought in for an interview with detectives, Guice confessed to the crime, police alleged. The Modesto Beereported that Belton was found outside an apartment complex suffering from a gunshot wound.

DNA on Discarded Cigarette Butt Reveals Killer of Vt. Teacher 52 Years Later

Photo: Burlington PoliceA discarded cigarette butt has helped authorities solve the 52-year-old cold case murder of Vermont school teacher Rita Curran.“We’re all confident that William DeRoos is responsible for the aggravated murder of Rita Curran, but because he died in a hotel room of a drug overdose he will not be held accountable for his actions, but this case will be closed,” Burlington Police Detective Lt. James Trieb, the commander of the Detective Services Bureau,said in a news conference on Tuesday.