South Salt Lake police hope a new DNA test — one that can determine the ethnicity of a person — will help them get closer to finding Sherry Black’s killer.

A new DNA test developed by Sorenson Forensics called the Law Enforcement Ancestry DNA Test can compare the suspect or the individual’s DNA to five major parental populations being European, African, Indian Subcontinent, Indigenous American and Asian.

The hope is that once a suspect’s ethnicity is determined authorities will have a better idea of who they’re looking for. Taking DNA from a crime scene where nothing is known about the individual that contributed that sample, particularly in cold cases, and being able to use that DNA to narrow down that list of suspects is very helpful.

In Sherry Black’s case investigators know the suspect is a man whose DNA isn’t in the federal database. Investigators have very good DNA evidence, blood DNA evidence in this case so it’s just a matter of time before they hook it all together.

Sorenson Forensics has been developing this DNA test for over two years and it’s the only one like this in the country.

News stories on the new DNA testing technology:

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