Real Crime with Adam Shand

The Woman Who Invented Cold Case DNA | Dr Colleen Fitzpatrick

54 min · 9 jun 2026
aflevering The Woman Who Invented Cold Case DNA | Dr Colleen Fitzpatrick artwork

Beschrijving

She didn't stumble into cold case forensics: she invented it. Dr. Colleen Fitzpatrick is a nuclear physicist, former rocket scientist, and the founder of California-based Identifinders International, and she's the woman who pioneered the technique now known as forensic investigative genetic genealogy. Adam sits down with Colleen to trace her remarkable journey from laser science and space shuttle research to building family trees that catch killers, and hears how she cracked cases that had defeated generations of detectives, including the 20-year-old murder of teenager Sarah Yarborough and Australia's most enduring mystery, the Somerton Man. Colleen pulls back the curtain on how FIG actually works, the limits of commercial DNA databases, and why the technology is only getting more powerful. And she and Adam share a fascinating conversation about a potential future project - using genetic genealogy to identify and repatriate human remains taken from colonial Zimbabwe, currently sitting nameless in British museums. If you've got a skeleton in your closet, Dr Colleen Fitzpatrick will find it. Identifinders International Website [https://identifinders.com/]: https://identifinders.com/ [https://identifinders.com/] GEDmatch Website [https://www.gedmatch.com/]: https://www.gedmatch.com/ [https://www.gedmatch.com/] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Reacties

0

Wees de eerste die een reactie plaatst

Meld je nu aan en word lid van de Real Crime with Adam Shand community!

Probeer gratis

Probeer 14 dagen gratis

€ 9,99 / maand na proefperiode. · Elk moment opzegbaar.

  • Podcasts die je alleen op Podimo hoort
  • 20 uur luisterboeken / maand
  • Gratis podcasts

Alle afleveringen

97 afleveringen

aflevering Badge of Betrayal: How a Dead Pedophile Cop Exposed a Police Culture Crisis artwork

Badge of Betrayal: How a Dead Pedophile Cop Exposed a Police Culture Crisis

Investigative journalist and podcast host Jay Walkerden joins Adam to discuss Badge of Betrayal, his explosive investigation into disgraced Tasmanian police officer Paul Reynolds. The series examined decades of child sexual abuse allegations, failures of accountability, and the shocking decision to grant Reynolds a police funeral despite concerns about his conduct. Walkerden explains how the podcast helped trigger a parliamentary inquiry into Tasmania Police, exposing deeper questions about institutional culture, transparency, and the protection of vulnerable victims. It's a story of persistence, public interest journalism, and the pursuit of truth. You can listen to the show here  [https://open.spotify.com/show/03Q1zMXdazSlNwDyZvQiPW?si=8dc32590bc124ba6] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

5 jul 202629 min
aflevering Damned If You Do: The Case That Could End Police Pursuits | Mick Kennedy artwork

Damned If You Do: The Case That Could End Police Pursuits | Mick Kennedy

When Sergeant Benedict Bryant was found guilty of dangerous driving over the death of Jai Wright — a teenager riding a stolen motorbike who collided with Bryant's stationary unmarked police car — the verdict sent shockwaves through the NSW Police Force. Bryant didn't go to jail, but the conviction may cost him everything. And the ripple effects could reshape policing across the state. Adam Shand speaks with Dr. Michael Kennedy, former NSW police officer and senior lecturer in the policing program at Western Sydney University, about what the Bryant verdict really means for the officers on the beat, for pursuit policy and for the future of law enforcement in NSW. Kennedy pulls no punches. He argues that Bryant was let down by a system that cleared him at every level: Professional Standards, the DPP and the oversight body, before a politically charged prosecution pursued him anyway. Forced to fund his own defence, Bryant opted for a judge-only trial because he couldn't afford a jury. Now he carries a criminal conviction and every commander in NSW is quietly asking themselves the same question: next time, do I give the order? See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

23 jun 202642 min
aflevering Business, Nothing Personal: The Detective Who Made Crooks Talk | David Plumpton artwork

Business, Nothing Personal: The Detective Who Made Crooks Talk | David Plumpton

He spent four decades as one of Tasmania's most respected detectives, not by working the politics, but by working the streets. David Plumpton retired in 2015 as a detective inspector with Tasmania Police, but his legacy isn't built on rank. It's built on something far rarer: the ability to make the most dangerous, guarded, and ruthless criminals open their mouths. Adam sits down with "Plumo" to explore a lost art in modern policing - the walk and the talk. Plumpton breaks down the psychology of getting people to talk, his philosophy of "business, nothing personal," and why sincerity is the most powerful tool in any interrogation room. He also reveals why, inside Tasmanian prisons, the word went around: don't talk to Plumpton. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

21 jun 202647 min