The Landscape Shifts: The Future of Investigative Genetic Genealogy

Murder, She Told

Kristen Seavey

Society & Culture, Documentary, True Crime

4.8 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 10 March 2026

⏱️ 46 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Back in November 2024, I spoke with investigative genetic genealogist Cairenn Binder of Ramapo College about the basics of investigative genetic genealogy and how it helps solve cold cases and restore the names of unidentified people. Now, in an interview with Laurah Norton of The Fall Line, Cairenn returns to discuss a recent development that has shaken the field. Changes to the terms of service at Ancestry affecting access to historical records and family trees could have major implications for investigators working to identify John and Jane Does and generate leads in homicide cases. Many genealogists fear the policy shift could impact both current investigations and cases still waiting to be solved. Cairenn helps break down the key updates—and what they could mean moving forward. Sources for The Fall Line: https://www.thefalllinepodcast.com/sources Mentioned in the episode: ⁠NYT article⁠ Read Laurah's book, Lay Them to Rest Revisit "Cracking Cold Cases Using Investigative Genetic Genealogy" originally published 11/5/2024: ⁠https://murdershetold.com/episodes/investigative-genetic-genealogy⁠ Support the show: ⁠https://www.murdershetold.com/support⁠ Instagram: ⁠@murdershetoldpodcast⁠ TikTok: ⁠@murdershetold⁠ Facebook: ⁠/mstpodcast⁠ Website: ⁠murdershetold.com⁠ ----- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, it's Kristen. We are hard at work behind the scenes going through Alice Sturm's case files and other records.
0:07.8	And if you don't know what I'm talking about, go listen to the last episode on Judy Lord, because there was some major news that dropped in that episode.
0:16.3	But while we're sifting through those files, I want to share something special with you.
0:20.2	Back in November of
0:21.1	24, I shared an interview with Karen Binder, an investigative genetic genealogist with Ramapo
0:26.6	College. I absolutely loved the feedback that I got on that episode, and it warms my heart that people
0:32.2	really connected with Karen. She is amazing. But in that episode, we covered the basics of investigative genetic genealogy,
0:39.5	which is probably the biggest buzzword in true crime right now. We talked about what it is,
0:45.0	what her work entails, and how she helps to solve cold cases and restore the names of unidentified
0:50.4	people. Since then, however, there's been policy shifts at ancestry that significantly
0:56.5	changed the level of access genealogists like Karen have to certain records. These changes
1:02.1	could have major impacts on the future of this work. So what does that mean for people like Karen?
1:07.5	And how could it affect the ability to solve cold cases moving forward? My friend Laura Norton
1:12.8	shared a recent episode of the Fall Line featuring Karen that covers all the major need-to-know
1:17.7	points and helps explain what's changed since my interview in 2024, because it's a lot. And if you
1:24.1	love this episode, be sure to check out the Fall Line. Laura has an entire catalog of incredible work waiting for you.
1:31.0	So this is everything you need to know about investigative genetic genealogy in 2026.
1:36.7	I'm Kristen Ceevi, and this is The Fall Line on Murder She Told.
1:41.1	Music on murder, she told.
2:03.4	This is a conversation regarding the recent terms of service changes at Ancestry.com and discussions of how those changes may have long-term effects for investigative genetic genealogists
2:09.0	and others who participate in the resolution of cold cases.
2:12.8	We recognize that Ancestry is a private company that may change their terms of service at any time.
	...

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