HOUSTON — Authorities say newly tested DNA evidence helped them make an arrest in the killings more than eight years ago of a family, including two boys, who were shot in their suburban Houston home.

Feng Lu, 58, who had long been considered a suspect in the case, was arrested on Sunday by police in San Francisco after his arrival from China, according to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez.

Lu has been charged with capital murder in the deaths of Maoye Sun and his wife Mei Xie and the couple’s two sons, 7-year-old Titus and 9-year-old Timothy, the sheriff said in a tweet on Tuesday.

Lu was being held Wednesday at a jail in San Mateo County, California, pending extradition to Texas. Court records did not list an attorney for Lu who could speak on his behalf.

The bodies of all four family members were found on Jan. 30, 2014, in their home in the Houston suburb of Cypress. All had been shot in the head. Investigators said Sun was last seen alive leaving work on Jan. 24.

Lu was linked to the killings after new forensic testing done in January on samples that previously were not able to be identified showed that Lu’s DNA was found on a purse that belonged to Xie, according to a probable cause affidavit.

The DNA testing contradicted statements Lu had made previously to investigators in which he had said he did not know Xie or her children and didn’t know where the family lived, according to the affidavit.

Authorities have not disclosed a motive for the killings, but according to the affidavit, Lu had unsuccessfully tried to get Sun’s help with a promotion at work. Both had worked at Cameron International, which provides products and services to oil and gas companies.

Lu “stated he believed that (Sun) made derogatory comments about him to fellow co-workers … which may have been the reason he did not get the promotion,” according to the affidavit.

Investigators say Lu had bought a handgun a week before the killings and then returned it five days after the killings without the weapon’s barrel. Authorities allege Lu gave inconsistent stories about what happened to the gun’s barrel. Investigators also allege that bullets Lu had bought with the gun had likely been manufactured on the same machine as the bullet that killed one of the boys, Titus.

The post DNA results in an arrest of man in San Francisco for the 2014 killing of Houston household of 4 appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

San Francisco Dist. atty Chesa Boudin, shown before his 2020 swearing-in ceremony, said Monday that San Francisco police have misused rape victims’ DNA evidence. (Jeff Chiu / Associated Press)

San Francisco’s district attorney said police used a database with DNA collected from victims of rape and sexual assault to connect some of them to crimes.

Dist. atty Chesa Boudin said Monday that the San Francisco Police Department crime lab had been using the database to “attempt to subsequently incriminate” victims of rape and sexual assault in connection with unrelated cases, a practice he called “legally and ethically wrong.”

The district attorney called for an immediate end to the alleged practice, committed to working with police to address the allegations and urged changes to local and state laws, his office said in a statement.

“I am disturbed that victims who have the courage to undergo an invasive examination to help identify their perpetrators are being treated like criminals rather than supported as crime victims,” ​​Boudin said. “We should encourage survivors to come forward — not collect evidence to use against them in the future. This practice treats victims like evidence, not human beings.”

Boudin alleged DNA evidence collected from a rape victim was later used to identify and arrest her as a suspect in an unrelated crime, according to a police statement Monday.

A source with knowledge of the case told The Times on Tuesday that Boudin dismissed it due to a possible violation of the 4th Amendment, which protects against unreasonable searches and seizures.

The case involved a recent property crime, according to the district attorney’s office.

Police officials and Boudin’s office have largely kept mum about the specifics.

Neither police nor prosecutors would provide further details about the alleged property crime, including what specific kind of crime is suspected to have occurred and when it occurred.

Police spokespeople provided a statement issued Monday by Chief Bill Scott but declined to answer questions.

The chief said that if DNA collected from a victim of rape or sexual assault was used to identify and arrest a person as a suspect in another crime, he was “committed to ending the practice.”

Story continues

Existing DNA collection policies have been legally vetted and are in line with state and national forensic standards, Scott said.

“However, there are many important principles for which the San Francisco Police Department stands that go beyond state and national standards,” he said. “We have long embraced sanctuary for our undocumented immigrant communities, for example, and we years ago ended the practice of using condoms as evidence in prostitution cases.”

The chief said the department will immediately start reviewing DNA collection practices and policies and that he has consulted with San Francisco City Atty. David Chiu.

There is a possibility the suspect was identified through a DNA match to evidence in a “nonvictim DNA database,” Scott said.

But Boudin’s questions were “sufficiently concerning” that the chief said he asked his assistant chief of operations to conduct a thorough review.

“Whatever disagreements Dist. Atty. Boudin and I may have, we agree that this issue needs to be addressed,” Scott said. “At the end of the day, our respective departments exist to do justice for victims of crime. The last thing we should ever do is discourage their cooperation with us to accomplish that.”

State officials and organizations that work with victims of rape and sexual assault also spoke out Monday.

Pamela Tate, co-executive director of Black Women Revolt Against Domestic Violence, said the database cannot be considered a “blanket waiver” of victims’ rights to not self-incriminate.

“This type of misrepresentation will have a chilling effect on Black women and women of color in reporting crimes of sexual assault,” Tate said.

The legal system isn’t designed to support survivors of sexual violence, said KellyLou Densmore, director of the San Francisco Office of Sexual Harassment and Assault Response and Prevention.

“Many survivors already choose not to share their experiences, particularly transgender people and cisgender women of color, LGBT people and other marginalized groups who may distrust police and face other significant barriers to receiving support after sexual assault,” Densmore said.

Michael Risher, a civil rights attorney who works with the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, said the alleged practice violates victims’ privacy.

Federal law prohibits law enforcement from uploading sexual assault victims’ DNA samples into the national Combined DNA Index System, which is used to match DNA from crime scenes with samples taken from people convicted of or arrested for crimes, Risher said.

“Local agencies that maintain separate databases should follow this sensitive rule to ensure that victims’ DNA is not retained and used for unrelated purposes,” he said. “This is especially important for California law enforcement agencies like SFPD because, unlike the federal Constitution, the California Constitution expressly protects privacy rights and victims’ rights.”

After a sexual assault is reported, victims are asked to undergo an examination in which evidence is collected from bodily fluids, fingernail scrapings, and any bite or scratch marks, Boudin’s office said.

“The victim submits their own DNA sample in order to exclude DNA that comes from the victim, as opposed to the suspect,” according to the statement.

But research shows only a small percentage of victims go through sexual assault testing, an invasive and traumatic process for many survivors, prosecutors said.

“Victims of sexual assault consent to their DNA collection for this purpose, not so that their DNA will be retained in a local law enforcement database permanently to be searched years later,” prosecutors said. “Using victims’ DNA in order to potentially incriminate them in the future further dissuade sexual assault survivors from undergoing what is already a very difficult and emotional process.”

State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and San Francisco Supervisor Hillary Ronen also condemned the alleged practice.

Wiener said he was working with Boudin’s office to address the issue with state legislation “if needed.”

Ronen said she asked Chiu to draft legislation to prevent any kind of evidence from a victim’s rape kit, including DNA, from being used for anything other than investigating that case.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The post San Francisco police used rape victims’ DNA to attempt to ‘incriminate’ them, D.A. says appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

New Food Market In San Jose Replaces Cashiers With Artificial IntelligenceA food market just reopened in the South Bay with no cashiers. As Kiet Do tells us, you can take what you want and leave thanks to artificial intelligence.

15 minutes ago

PIX NowTuesday 7pm news update from KPIX 5

41 minutes ago

Family of Cinematographer Killed on ‘Rust’ Movie Set Sue’s Alec Baldwin, ProducersThe family of the cinematographer shot and killed on the set of the film “Rust” say they’re suing Alec Baldwin and the movie’s producers for wrongful death. Reporter Rachel Kim takes a closer look at that lawsuit.

49 minutes ago

San Jose Auto Mechanic Helping Homeless People Repair The Cars They Rely OnA San Jose auto mechanic is trying to fix the homelessness problem one car at a time. Len Ramirez tells us how.

55 minutes ago

UC Berkeley Admissions Could Hinge On Court Fight Over Enrollment Effects On Housing, EnvironmentThousands of prospective UC Berkeley students have found out their chance of admission might be greatly decreased thanks to an ongoing battle between the university and the community in Berkeley. Andria Borba reports.

1 hour ago

Western Megadrought Now Worst In 1,200 YearsThe American West’s megadrought deepened so much last year that it is now the driest in at least 1,200 years and is a worst-case climate change scenario playing out live, a new study finds. Devin Fehely reports.

1 hour ago

Napa Homeowner Building Fireproof House Following Multiple Area WildfiresAs people continue to rebuild in fire-prone areas like Napa and Sonoma Counties, one homeowner is taking the concept of “home hardening” to a whole new level. John Ramos reports.

2 hours ago

San Francisco DA Demands End To Misuse Of DNA Rape KitsSan Francisco District Attorney Boudin says police in San Francisco and across California are misusing DNA rape kits to identify suspects in other crimes. Kenny Choi explains.

2 hours ago

Daly City Housing Development Plans Squeezing Out Beloved Community GardenDaly City’s Serramonte Del Rey neighborhood is about to undergo a major change, but plans for a new housing development mean a community garden that’s been around 20 years will have to go. Max Darrow reports.

2 hours ago

Tuesday Evening First Alert Weather2/15/22

2 hours ago

Fire Burns In Oakland Residential Tower; Firefighters, Residents InjuredFive people were injured in a two-alarm fire that burned at a multiple-story residential building in Oakland Tuesday afternoon.

3 hours ago

“Big Nate” debuts on Paramount+The animated series “Big Nate” premieres Thursday the 17th on Paramount+. Gianna talks to stars Ben Giroux and Bryce Charles

3 hours ago

Putin Pulls Some Russian Troops From Ukrainian BorderRussian President Vladimir Putin has pulled some troops back from the border. Skyler Henry reports on the latest developments.

3 hours ago

Celebrating Black History Month in OaklandCBS News Bay Area anchor Len Kiese talks to the President & CEO of Visit Oakland, Peter Gamez, about the events going on in Oakland for Black History Month

3 hours ago

2-Alarm Fire at Oakland Housing Authority TowerA two-alarm fire broke out at a residential tower at an Oakland Housing Authority building along Market at 7th Street, with multiple people being treated by medics including responding fire personnel.

4 hours ago

PIX NowTuesday noon news update from KPIX 5

8 hours ago

Raw Video: San Francisco DA Claims Police Using DNA from Sex Assault Victims to Identify Crime SuspectsSan Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin held a press conference Tuesday denouncing the use of rape kit DNA as crime evidence against sexual assault victims, reportedly in connection with a recent SFPD investigation.

8 hours ago

First Alert Weather Forecast For Tuesday MorningCooler temperatures, snow flurries in Sierra

14 hours ago

PIX NowTuesday morning headlines from the KPIX newsroom

14 hours ago

COVID: Masks Will Still Be Required In Some Places Even After Mandate Is LiftedWhile the statewide mask mandate for vaccinated individuals is set to expire; one expert warns not to throw away the masks just yet.

14 hours ago

Black History Month: Muni unveils artist Fredrick Nolan’s bus stop illustration of San Francisco’s Black historyNext time you are waiting for a bus take a look at Fredrick Nolan’s illustrations detailing San Francisco’s Black history

15 hours ago

COVID: Mask Mandate Will Soon Lifted But Some Exceptions RemainIn a little more than 24 hours, fully vaccinated Californians can go without a mask. But as Maria Cid Medina warns, don’t throw away all your face coverings just yet.

21 hours ago

District Attorney, Police Chief Denounce Misuse Of DNA From Rape VictimsSan Francisco’s district attorney and police chief denounce the use of DNA from rape victims to implicate them in other crimes. Betty Yu has more.

21 hours ago

The post San Francisco DA Calls for Finish To Misuse Of DNA Rape Kits – CBS San Francisco appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

From Libby Copeland

Home DNA testing has become a cultural phenomenon – with at least 37 million test kits sold in America – and the San Francisco Bay Area is central to its development, impact, and potential. Bay Area residents will have an unobstructed view as this industry evolves and raises profound questions about privacy, criminal justice, and the future of healthcare.

No home DNA tests were started in California. Its American origins began in 2000 when FamilyTreeDNA of Houston sent out its first testing kits for ancestry purposes. However, the field was changed 15 years ago with the formation of 23andMe in Sunnyvale, which from the beginning focused on the effects of home DNA testing on health and inherited traits. 23andMe is truly a Silicon Valley creation, with major early investments from Google, Genentech, and Mohr Davidow Ventures.

The field has been transformed again in the past few months by three major acquisitions: 23andMe announced that it will go public through a merger with a company founded by billionaire Richard Branson, valued at $ 3.5 billion. Blackstone completed the majority acquisition of Ancestry for $ 4.7 billion. And MyHeritage announced that it will be acquired by Francisco Partners, a San Francisco-based private equity firm, for a reported value of $ 600 million.

Home DNA testing, which grew early in popularity as a product to assist amateur genealogists, turned into a bargain purchase and a popular Christmas gift for tens of millions of people eager to learn more about their heritage. But 23andMe is betting that the future of the industry lies in initiatives like new drug development on the health side. “We have always seen health as a much bigger opportunity,” said Anne Wojcicki, co-founder of the company, recently. According to Wojcicki, the COVID-19 pandemic reaffirmed 23andMe’s vision to advance health care, which has sparked a greater buzz in both disease prevention and pharmaceutical development.

However, the three recent acquisitions have revived questions about the privacy of sensitive genetic information when companies merge and change hands. Interesting questions also arise about the relationship between the home DNA tester and the information revealed by the test.

Consumers typically pay around $ 99 for parentage testing and more when health and parentage testing are bundled. The research that is based on this genetic data and information, voluntarily provided by consumers, can in turn be used to develop future therapeutics for diseases such as cancer. However, the tester who provided the critical data does not benefit from the lessons learned, leading some industry observers to describe the relationship between industry and consumers as deeply asymmetrical.

Clear ethical issues have arisen with the use of DNA test results at home in another area called the criminal justice system, and again here the numbers in the Bay Area play a prominent role. Paul Holes, at the time a cold investigator with the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office, urged the use of consumer genetic information in the infamous Golden State Killer after years law enforcement databases failed to find a match for the killer’s crime scene DNA. The approach resulted in the arrest and conviction of Joseph James DeAngelo.

However, recent reports from the Los Angeles Times revealed that MyHeritage’s DNA database was used to solve the Golden State Killer case without the company’s knowledge or permission, and that FamilyTreeDNA granted database access to the FBI without telling its clients. Such revelations raise questions about the willingness and ability of some companies to protect at least the most sensitive information of their consumers.

Even the sheer number of people tested poses problems. According to Pew Research, more than 15% of American adults have had a mail-in DNA test. This has led to a tipping point – far more of us are potentially affected by this technology than actually tested. Because of the nature of family – our shared genetic segments and life together – people who are not in consumer genetic databases are still often identifiable by genetic relatives searching for them.

This has a myriad of effects. It has challenged promises about the anonymity of sperm donors, given adopters access to knowledge about their birth families, and resolved long-held family secrets, leading to widespread intergenerational billing. Millions of Americans have been affected by these revelations, leading to an increase in mental health professionals offering therapeutic support for a phenomenon that barely existed just 10 years ago – “misrepresented ancestry experiences” resulting from DNA testing of Surrender to consumers. This is a technology that touches our most intimate lives and represents great cultural changes that we will talk about in the decades to come.

Industry experts say privacy concerns, as well as the saturation of home DNA testing, explain why spit kit sales have slowed over the past two years, as so many Americans with genealogical interests have already used one or more services. However, 23andMe’s long-term focus has always been on health – medical research, pharmaceutical development, preventive intelligence – and the databases have already grown large as testing for ancestry purposes continues to grow in popularity.

The era of genetic reckoning is upon us, with all that it implies about the future of privacy, criminal justice, and health care. The Bay Area will no doubt be at the forefront of what’s to come, as it has been for years. To see the future of this extraordinary cultural phenomenon we only need, as they say, “to observe this space”.

Libby Copeland, an award-winning journalist and former media scholar at Stanford University, is the author of “The Lost Family: How DNA Tests Tell Who We Are”. The paperback edition will appear in June.

Bay Area News

If you find our journalism valuable and relevant, please consider joining our Examiner membership program.
Learn more at www.sfexaminer.com/join/

The post Bay Space taking part in massive function in the way forward for house DNA testing – The San Francisco Examiner appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

Coastside Cleanup Group Says Pandemic PPE Is Choking BeachesMasks and gloves can save lives on land, but they also kill wildlife in and around our oceans. Maria Medina reports. (3-25-21)

17 hours ago

UCSF study examines immunity issuesWith one in four Californians now at least partially vaccinated against COVID-19, questions arise about the durability of the vaccine and how long it will protect the recipient from the virus. Betty Yu reports. (3-25-21)

17 hours ago

Rally by Albany residents condemning anti-Asian violenceAs we continue to hear of cases of hate crimes against the Asian community, residents of a town in East Bay have come together to fight back against racism and violence. Andrea Nakano reports. (3-25-21)

17 hours ago

Santa Clara County’s health officials fear that the vaccine supply will be inadequate as eligibility increasesThe upgrading of vaccination eligibility is exciting for the head of the Santa Clara County’s COVID-19 Testing and Vaccine Office, but said Thursday that the Bay Area’s most populous county needs more vaccine supplies. Katie Nielsen reports. (3-25-21)

17 hours ago

Raw Video: San Jose Police investigate triple shots near Brigadoon ParkSan Jose Police are investigating a shooting near Brigadoon Park on Brigadoon Way on Daniel Maloney Drive. (3-25-21)

18 hours ago

PIX nowHere’s the latest from the KPIX newsroom. (3-25-21)

21 hours ago

SFUSD Board Removes Alison CollinsMembers of the San Francisco Unified School District voted Thursday night to give Vice President Alison Collins the boot over alleged racist tweets she posted several years ago. (3-25-21)

21 hours ago

SF Assemblyman proposes bill to decriminalize jaywalkingThe Freedom to Walk Act proposed by Phil Ting in San Francisco would legalize intersections when they are safe, outside of a crosswalk or against a traffic light. Kenny Choi reports. (3-25-21)

22 hours ago

Gov. Newsom is speeding up the vaccine delivery scheduleThe California vaccine is now only three weeks away. Wilson Walker reports. (3-25-21)

22 hours ago

Winner named in San Jose Landmark Design ContestA San Jose community group held a competition to design a San Jose centerpiece. A winner was selected from almost a thousand submissions from around the world. Elizabeth Cook reports. (3-25-21)

22 hours ago

Experts caution Post-pandemic economic recovery will be uneven and slowAlthough there are signs that the labor market is improving, Devin Fehely spoke to experts who predict it could take months – even years – for certain parts of the economy to return to pre-pandemic levels. (3-25-21)

23 hours ago

Precise forecast for Thursday eveningChief meteorologist Paul Heggen says there’s a warm-up coming this weekend. (3-25-21)

23 hours ago

The proposed law would prohibit people of extreme views from becoming policeState lawmakers are debating a bill that would prevent people with “discriminatory beliefs” from becoming police officers. Andria Borba reports (3-25-21)

23 hours ago

Community mourns the trustee of the Dublin School BoardOne East Bay town honors a woman who died doing what she was best known for: giving back to the community. Catherine Kuo died in a tragic accident while distributing food at a Dublin school. Juliette Goodrich reports. (3-25-21)

23 hours ago

Bay Area lawmakers attempting to decriminalize jaywalking, says quotes are disproportionately given to people with colorA Bay Area lawmaker tries to decriminalize jaywalking in California. He says such quotes are disproportionately given to people of color and have led to life-threatening encounters with law enforcement agencies. Kenny Choi from KPIX has more.

1 day ago

Bay Area lawmakers attempting to decriminalize jaywalking, says quotes are disproportionately given to people with colorA Bay Area lawmaker tries to decriminalize jaywalking in California. He says such quotes are disproportionately given to people of color and have led to life-threatening encounters with law enforcement agencies. Kenny Choi from KPIX has more.

1 day ago

Postcards from New YorkLeigh Scheps talks about the latest Broadway appearances being offered virtually.

1 day ago

Virtual Cooking Classes Amid COVID-19CBSN Bay Area speaks to local chef Donato Scotti and is offering meal kids combined with virtual cooking classes to help stay afloat during the pandemic.

1 day ago

California will extend eligibility to all 50 and older starting April 1; 16+ in mid-AprilAnne Makovec reports on Governor Newsom announcing the expansion of COVID vaccine approval in April (3-25-2021).

1 day ago

Biden answers questions about COVID, immigration and gun control during the first solo press conferenceNatalie Brand reports on Pres. Biden answers questions on a variety of topics during the Presidency’s first press conference (3-25-2021)

1 day ago

San Leandro Unified, teachers reach agreement to return children to school on April 12thWith just a week of lift in March, the clock is ticking for school districts aiming to bring older children back to class in April as the CDC announces that children can now safely sit closer together in the classroom. Kiet Do reports.

1 day ago

Weather forecast Thursday morning with Mary Lee(3/25/21)

1 day ago

The post DNA Helps Crack San Mateo Rape, Tried Homicide Chilly Case – CBS San Francisco appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.