Ina Jane Doe’s decapitated head was discovered in January 1993 in Wayne Fitzgerrell State Park in Ina, Illinois. Physical anthropology examinations were published in attempts to identify her, to no avail.
In 2020, a team led by physical anthropologist Dr. Amy Michael with writer and researcher Laurah Norton began working with Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department to revisit the remains for purposes of reanalysis and eventually, forensic genetic genealogy.
In November 2021, hair and tooth samples were sent to Astrea Forensics. While hair samples had been collected and stored since the body’s recovery in 1993, the teeth were sampled from the cranium by Dr. Michael in her physical anthropology lab at University of New Hampshire.
The single rootless hair tested by Astrea labs yielded enough DNA for 13x coverage of the human genome.
These data were used to product a SNP profile, or genotype file for use in genetic genealogy searching.
The genotype file was delivered to the team, included Redgrave Research Forensic Services, a genealogy company in Massachusetts, who then uploaded the data file to GEDmatch on February 3, 2022. Hours later, Susan Lund was identified.
