While technology has undoubtedly changed the world in countless ways, one of the most underappreciated aspects of mankind’s endless technological advancements is that of DNA technology, and particularly, how that technology is applied.
Whether it be catching a killer or exonerating an innocent man, DNA technology has literally made the world a safer place.
For example, because of the tools authorities and investigators now have, a psychopathic murderer in 2018 might be more hesitant than a murder in 1973. Or better yet, a murder that was unsolvable in 1973 may be solvable today.
At least that’s what the police in Newport Beach, California, are hoping, anyway.
On Friday, July 6 — 45 years since the disappearance of Linda O’Keefe — the Newport Beach Police tweeted out O’Keefe’s story in a renewed effort to find her killer. But why now? Why not last year or five years ago? The answer is, you guessed it, DNA technology.
Thanks to new technology that allows investigators to digitally render someone’s face with a sample of their DNA, Newport Beach police are hoping that the results of this new tech — Parabon Spanshot — will lead to more information about the still unidentified monster.
Using DNA that the killer left behind, police rendered the following image of what he would look like today:
In an effort to make sure this image was seen as far and wide as possible, the Newport Bleach told Linda’s story on Twitter, aggregating their tweets into a “moment”.
The story is both terrifying and heartbreaking, but hopefully — thanks to the Newport Police Department’s relentless pursuit of justice — this moment of virality is what’s needed to finally bring the killer into the light.
https://twitter.com/i/moments/1015639333120892928
Police are asking anyone with information on this case is encouraged to call the NBPD Cold Case Tip Line at 949-644-3669.
Rest in peace, Linda.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIm6SX7XWPM&feature=youtu.be
