The Types of Genetic Genealogy

There Are Three Major Types of Genetic Genealogy — mtDNA, Y-Dna and Autosomal — Depending on What Type of Dna Is Used and What the Search Entails. Mtdna Genealogy Relies on Mitochondrial Dna Inherited from Mothers, So It’s Useful for Tracing Maternal Heritage. on the Flipside, Y-Dna Refers to the Y-Chromosome Acquired by Biological Males from Their Fathers — So It Can Track Paternal Ancestors.

Open Season for Gedmatch

One Common Misperception About the Rise of Forensic Genealogy Is That 23Andme, Ancestry. Com and Other Big Direct-to-Consumer Companies Are Somehow Involved — That Those Companies Have Ratted out Their Users by Allowing Law Enforcement to Dig Through Their Dna Records.

Slasher Films and the Case of Mistaken Identity

When Michael Usry, the Filmmaker from New Orleans, Was 19, He Had Traveled Through Idaho Falls on a Couple Occasions Around the Same Time as Angie Dodge’s Murder — Once for a Mormon Mission Trip and Another Time for a Ski Vacation in Utah. but in 2014, Detectives Were Interested in Usry Because of His Dad’s Dna.

Other Ways Genetic Genealogy Is Fallible

Even Though Autosomal Genealogy — with Its 700,000 Letters — Offers a Much More Specific Portrait of a Person, It Can Still Lead to False Identifications. Ancestry Tests Can Be Misinterpreted, and a Direct-to-Consumer Dna Profile Can Contain Errors — Typos in the Book. a Small Study in 2018 Found up to 40 Percent of the Snps Identified in Dna Profile Might Be False Positives, a Result Mirrored by a Second Study Published This June.

Genetic Genealogy Can Help Solve Cold Cases. It Can Also Accuse the Wrong Person.

By Marcus Vance

• Oct 8, 2026 • 19 min read

Genetic Genealogy Can Help Solve Cold Cases. It Can Also Accuse the Wrong Person.

Direct Answer • Key Takeaway

On an August Day in Washington State, Fields of Crops Stretch Like Seas Until They Bump up Against 100-Foot-High Pines. Cars Are Rolling over the High Bridge as Locals Swim in the Coursing Stream Below. Thirty Year's Ago, This Serene Scene Was Likely the Site of a Grisly Crime — Part of a Double Murder That Would Make Legal History.

Marcus Vance

Cybersecurity & Digital Privacy Researcher

Marcus Vance is a cybersecurity auditor and technology writer dedicated to educating the public about online safety, data privacy regulations, enterprise security, and emerging cyber threats.

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