DNA evidence links 1991 Sarah Yarborough murder to Colonial Mass. family

By: Crimesider Staff
Topics: Daily Blotter

Composite sketches of the possible suspect

/ King County Sheriff's Office

(CBS) - Genealogy records may help Seattle-area sheriff's deputies find a suspect in a 20-year-old murder case after connecting DNA evidence from a crime-scene sample to a 17th-century Massachusetts family.

CNN reports that the DNA sample was recovered from the body of 16-year-old Sarah Yarborough, who was killed on her high school campus in Dec. 1991.

The King County Sheriff's Office sent the DNA profile to Colleen Fitzpatrick, a California-based forensic consultant, who compared the profile to others in genealogy databases and found a match to the family of Robert Fuller, who settled in Salem, Mass. in 1630 and had relatives that had come over before him on the Mayflower, reports CNN.

Though Robert Fuller likely has thousands of descendants after nearly 400 years, Fitzpatrick says the geography and physical characteristics may be able help detectives narrow their search, and since the DNA trace follows male descendants, it is highly probable that the name of the man they're looking for has the name "Fuller."

"The most important thing is having a last name," Fitzpatrick told CNN. "People get excited about having a Mayflower connection, but the most important thing is having a probable last name for this guy."

The DNA Fitzpatrick used came from one of many major collections of genetic profiles, she told CNN, where people give their DNA profiles to the database.

"It allows you to connect with relatives you can't trace through traditional documentation," she said.

In this case, it could possibly connect a suspect to a decades-old cold case.

10 Comments +

Add a Comment


by hamiltongrad January 10, 2012 4:23 PM EST: If there are certain families with a propensity to commit crime, genetically so inclined, perhaps by having frontal lobe disorganization, or having the amygdala being small and thus no compassion or emphathy, then... we should... what ?? BRAVE NEW WORLD ??; Reply to this comment


by formerlyluvnut January 10, 2012 3:35 PM EST: Hmmm.; Reply to this comment

by addict42 January 10, 2012 12:30 PM EST

Oh my gosh I just found this article from the Seattle Times and the Yarboroughs had family friends with the last name Fuller!
See below:

Bill Fuller, who works at Weyerhaeuser with the Yarboroughs and whose daughter, Elizabeth, was one of Sarah's closest friends, has launched a fund-raising drive and commissioned Bonney Lake artist Larry Anderson to create a memorial in Sarah's honor.

If this family has a son who had long blond hair in 1991, then he should be questioned!!!!

Reply to this comment


by lisag333 January 10, 2012 10:03 PM EST: addict42....I just read that same Seattle Times article about Bill Fuller too!!! I was thinkin the exact thing about maybe a brother of Elizabeth's.....or a cousin....what a mind blower! This new DNA clue should give them a great lead!

by caljack430 January 10, 2012 11:48 AM EST

I feel like that kind of DNA evidence just wouldn't hold up in court... if i were a juror i simply wouldn't believe that they traced DNA back to the 1600's (where did you get a sample from that family anyway!?) then all the back to modern day... sorry guys. I'm just not buying it.

Reply to this comment


by askagain January 10, 2012 12:37 PM EST: It is a start. Once a suspect is identified, interrogation and checking for an alibi. Many criminals confess after being caught and police will interview friends, relatives, and associates of the suspect. DNA alone may not get a conviction but it provides a starting point in an investigation. Just because a murder is 20 years old doesn't mean a person shouldn't be brought to justice.


by signseeker1717 January 10, 2012 2:10 PM EST: It says in the article that the DNA was taken from the CRIME scene (possibilities: blood, *****, skin, hair) and traced BACK. It is also possible to extract DNA from bone and human remains. Forensic science is legitimate, and advancing: recently, DNA was successfully taken from fossilized Neanderthal bone.


by you_MAY_be_right January 10, 2012 2:26 PM EST: You're missing the point.

If they have a connection back to Robert Fuller they can now proceed forward to today following his line of descendents to 1991 to see if/how many lived or visited the area where the murder took place. Throw out everyone but the few and try to get a DNA match on one of them.

If they get the match they can then proceed to possibly trial.

And I NEVER watch CSI, just not interested in it.