Detectives are to collect new DNA new samples from 150 men in an effort to try and find Ingrid Caeckaert’s killer. The daily ‘Het Laaste Nieuws’ reports that the public prosecutor’s office hopes that the samples will help solve the 33-year-old murder case. New legislation regarding DNA means that DNA samples can be compared more extensively and it is hoped that matches will be found that will lead to breakthroughs in many so-called “cold cases”.
Detectives to collect 150 new DNA samples in an effort to solve 33-year-old murder case
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Ingrid Caeckaert died of multiple stab wounds in 1991. She was found in the stairwell of the block of flats where she lived in the West Flemish coastal municipality of Knokke-Heist. Her killer was injured during the attack and left a trail of blood.
Based on analysis of DNA extracted from the killer’s blood detectives know that he is a man aged around 40 and is of Western European descent. Céline D'havé of the Ghent (East Flanders) public prosecutor’s office says that “After all these years we have not been able to find a match for his DNA in our database.”
There are several DNA databases in Belgium. They contain DNA taken from suspects or samples collected at crime scenes.
Wider comparison possible
Until recently it was only possible to match DNA that had been found and was not identified one on one to the samples contained in the database. Detectives were only allowed to look for a direct match. However, scientific advances and a new law have changed all this.
If the DNA found from the suspect is male, the Y chromosome (which only men have) of that sample, can be compared with male samples (and their Y chromosome) from the database. The Y chromosome is often passed down from father to son for generations and so it is unique to a particular family.
Samples are now being taken, in some cases for a second time, from 150 men. Using the new technique will only prove successful if a family member is already in the database.