Summary

In January 1997, Margaret M. Anselmo was found dead from head injuries in an alley in the 700 block of East Pacific, in Spaokane, Washington. Anselmo, who was born in 1951 and a Spokane native, was 45 years old at the time of her death. She left her apartment to cash a check one afternoon when she was sexually assaulted and killed by an unknown person. The Spokane Police Department responded to the scene and launched an investigation. It was determined that Margaret Anselmo died due to blunt force trauma, and her death was ruled a homicide.

A traditional STR DNA profile was developed from evidence collected at the crime scene. This profile was entered into the FBI's CODIS database, but there was no match to a known person. Despite an exhaustive investigation, the person who killed Anselmo could not be identified and the case went cold.

In 2022, the Spokane Police Department and Washington State Patrol Crime Lab submitted forensic evidence to Othram's forensic laboratory in The Woodlands, Texas, where scientists determined that advanced DNA testing could help identify the suspect. At Othram scientists used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive DNA profile for the unknown suspect. Othram's in-house forensic genetic genealogy team used that profile in a genetic genealogy search to develop new investigative leads that were returned to law enforcement who worked to advance the case to identify Anselmo's killer.

This investigation led law enforcement to relatives of a likely suspect. To rapidly validate a key familial link and expedite the genealogical investigation, investigators turned to Othram’s KinSNP® Rapid Relationship Testing, which allows secure, private, and rapid pairwise DNA comparisons between crime-scene evidence and potential relatives.

This investigation led to the positive identification of the suspect, who is now known to be Brian James Anderson, born April 29, 1976. Brian died by suicide on July 8, 2009 in Pend Oreille County, Washington, and is buried in Newton Cemetery in Newport, Washington. At the time of Anselmo's murder, he was 20 years old. If he were still alive, the Spokane Police Department would seek to charge Anderson with first-degree murder and first-degree rape.

This case is a powerful reminder that time and persistence, combined with advances in forensic DNA testing and forensic genetic genealogy, can bring long-awaited answers even decades after a crime. If you would like to support efforts to solve more cases like this, consider contributing your DNA data to the DNASolves database which aids law enforcement in identifying suspects and giving families the answers they deserve. Brian Anderson's name never surfaced during prior investigations, making forensic genetic genealogy an important tool in helping to identify him as a suspect in the case.

The identification of Brian Anderson represents the 41st case in the State of Washington where officials have publicly identified an individual using technology developed by Othram. Visit DNASolves to learn about other Washington cases where your support can help bring long-awaited answers to families.