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Wednesday 22 June 2022

Investigator: DNA could identify 2 Tulsa massacre victims

 Investigator: DNA could identify 2 Tulsa massacre victims

Investigators seeking to identify victims of the Tulsa Race Massacre have found enough usable DNA for testing on two of the 14 sets of remains removed from a local cemetery a year ago

ByKen Miller Associated Press
June 23, 2022, 1:09 AM

Investigators seeking to identify victims of the Tulsa Race Massacre have found enough usable DNA for testing on two of the 14 sets of remains removed from a local cemetery a year ago, a forensic scientist said Wednesday.

Danny Hellwig with Intermountain Forensics in Salt Lake City, which is examining the remains, told The Associated Press that it's a promising step toward identifying the people whose remains were removed from Oaklawn Cemetery.

“We have two (sets) that we’re very excited about,” Hellwig said. “It doesn’t guarantee us a result, but it gives us hope” for learning the names.

The key, Hellwig said, is having descendants of those individuals provide DNA to a database so a match can be made when DNA sequencing is complete.

The sequencing is expected to begin in July or August, Hellwig said. A match to a family member could be made within days if the descendant is in Intermountain Forensics' DNA database.

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