Long Time Gone

The establishment of ancestry databases and websites on the internet has resulted in the growing popularity of people tracking their family’s history and genealogy. For many, this pursuit is purely one of curiosity, as they learn their genetic make-up, investigate where their families came from, and establish a clear lineage going back centuries.

The basic process of online genealogy is to submit a DNA test to a chosen website, which then compares the new DNA with DNA stored in its database, finding connections that establish biological relationships. Currently, Ancestry.com has the largest database of stored DNA, which increases the chances that a new DNA submission will match existing entries. Though the ethics of using this process in investigations are contested, online genealogy has been used successfully to solve crimes, as in Long Time Gone, with real-world success.

One real case mentioned in Long Time Gone is that of the Golden State Killer, Joseph James DeAngelo Jr., a serial killer, rapist, and burglar who was active in California in the 1970s and ’80s. DNA allowed investigators to connect DeAngelo’s crimes, and in 2017, investigators uploaded DeAngelo’s DNA to GEDMatch, an online genealogy website. The DNA sample led them to many possible relatives, and using the reconstructed family tree, investigators narrowed their list of suspects to just two men, leading to DeAngelo’s arrest.