Sneak peek: A Killer in the Family Tree | Forensic Files

[Music] i really like to solve puzzles and genealogy kind of is like that it offers
you this endless stream of blanks to fill in my name is chelsea rustad and in 2013 i
began my search for my own family history [Music] and it took me down lots of unexpected
paths along the way in 2015 i saw on ancestry's facebook page they were running a contest and
two winners would receive an ancestry dna kit they contacted me and said chelsea
you're one of the winners the ancestry dna kit arrived you just kind of spit in a tube and seal it up
and then it was on its way did you have any idea just what kind of story your dna would
tell i really didn't i was a genealogy hobbyist like millions of other people in the united states i
kind of accidentally fell into it i'm cece moore and i'm an investigative genetic genealogist and that means i use
dna to try to help law enforcement find violent criminals when the golden state killer suspect was
identified through investigative genetic genealogy there were many people who said this wasn't a tool that would be
used commonly in law enforcement and i wanted to prove them wrong and genetic genealogy has exposed a lot of
secrets that people had hoped would remain secret yes oftentimes it's someone's deepest
darkest secret all i'm thinking is oh it's it's going to confirm my ethnic background and maybe i'll get to
connect with some cousins i was excited i was just really optimistic about like maybe it will uncover something cool
a young canadian couple takes a road trip from vancouver island to seattle in november 1987.
eighteen-year-old tanya van kylenburg and her twenty-year-old boyfriend jay disappeared during a round trip from the
skagit county has the first half of this puzzling case in may of 2018 i got a knock on the door
and it was two investigators from skagit county and i was so confused what are they
investigating the murder of eighteen-year-old tanya van kylenburg her body was found in a ditch near the
town the boyfriend jay cook dead too his body found near monroe a few days strangled with some kind of ligature
they let me know that they are investigating a family member of mine for murder a double homicide from 1987.
this was a person who was in my family tree did that name appear on any of the suspects list
no that name had never been across my desk ever without genetic genealogy would we know
who killed tanya and jay no i know that my dna played a big part of that it's been a learning curve this was all brand
new it's the web of matches it's putting those puzzle pieces together little by little

When a woman uploads her DNA to a genealogy website, authorities show up at her door. Is there a double murderer in her family tree? "48 Hours" correspondent Erin Moriarty reports Saturday, Jan. 21, 2023 at 9/8c on CBS and Paramount+.

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Brief Summary

Chelsea Rustad's DNA reveals family ties to a 1987 double homicide case involving Tanya Van Kylenburg and Jay Cook.

Key points

The Unexpected Journey of Genealogy. Chelsea Rustad shares her journey into genealogy and the surprises it brought.
A Shocking Family Connection. Investigators reveal a family member's involvement in a double homicide from 1987.

Episode highlights

A Shocking Family ConnectionInvestigators reveal a family member's involvement in a double homicide from 1987.“They are investigating a family member of mine for murder, a double homicide from 1987.”2:55Nov 18, 2021

Episode quotes

Did you have any idea just what kind of story your DNA would tell?

A question posed about the revelations from DNA testing

1:00WatchNov 18, 2021

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