Dec 3, 2008 8:56 am US/Pacific
Search For SoCal Serial Killer Draws A Blank
LOS ANGELES
The LAPD's hunt for a serial killer who has stalked women in South L.A. for more than two decades was dealt a setback when a controversial search of DNA databases for the killer's family members came up empty, it was reported today.
"We were hoping," LAPD Deputy Chief Charlie Beck, who is overseeing a task force of detectives working to solve the case, told the Los Angeles Times.
"Police work is very much about exploring every avenue. We went down this one and it didn't turn out to be fruitful."
Pioneered in Britain, familial DNA searches are largely uncharted territory in the United States. The attempt to identify one of the serial killer's relatives was the first major use of California's new familial searching policy, the most far-reaching in the nation, according to the newspaper.
Underscoring the importance of the case, California Attorney General Jerry Brown overcame serious constitutional and privacy concerns rose by advisors and cleared the way for the search.
In leading up to Tuesday's anticlimax, state officials had painstakingly created a list of possible relatives from the state database of felons' DNA profiles. They then eliminated potential matches through further genetic testing and by reviewing public records to determine ages, addresses and names of family members. In the end, there were no matches, The Times reported.
The serial killer has claimed 10 known victims, striking most recently last year. Except for one man, he has targeted young, black women, many of them prostitutes. He sexually assaults the women and kills them by shooting or strangling them, often leaving their bodies in alleyways along Western Avenue.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
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