DNA tests identify woman found in 2006 linked to Detroit serial killer

DETROIT (AP) – Nearly 20 years later, the remains of a woman found in an abandoned Detroit home have been identified. She is a possible victim of a serial killer blamed for at least seven deaths, authorities said Tuesday.

Police said that through advanced DNA testing, the woman, known only as Jane Doe since 2006, was identified as Darylnn Washington.

In 2022, Detroit police approached Othram Inc. from Texas to try to solve the mystery.

Othram said he used forensic evidence build a DNA profile, conduct genealogical research and provide the police with new investigative leads. He regularly cooperates with American law enforcement agencies.

“The technology is amazing,” said Jackson Vidaurri, a Detroit police spokesman.

Washington’s family has been notified. No other details about the high-tech effort were immediately released.

In 2006, Shelly Brooks was accused of murdering seven women he paid for sex. Some victims were found many years earlier. He stood trial for two deaths, found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment, records show.

After Brooks was given life in prison, the remaining cases were no longer brought to trial, said Maria Miller of the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office.

“All of their bodies were found in remote locations in Detroit: an abandoned apartment building, an empty garage, an alley, an empty field and an empty house,” the Michigan Court of Appeals said in a 2008 summary.

DNA evidence and Brooks’ detailed, incriminating statements to police were used against him at trial, although when testifying in his own defense, he denied murdering anyone. The jurors didn’t believe him.