NEW YORK—With a DNA profile but no suspect to match in the strangling of a woman who went for a run and met a killer, authorities are looking to an emerging approach: using the DNA to look for the killer’s relatives.
The technique, known as familial DNA searching, has made inroads in some U.S. states and other countries in the last decade, leading to both high-profile arrests and civil-liberties qualms.
Now, New York state officials plan to discuss Friday whether to introduce it, after a request from prosecutors and police yearning for a lead in the case of 30-year-old runner Karina Vetrano.
Authorities see the technique as a powerful, precise investigative tool. And to Vetrano’s family, the case for the search is clear.
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