FAMILY FACES UP TO DNA BACKLASH
Familial DNA testing can solve crimes, but it can also destroy families.
It was most famously used to arrest Joseph Martin Reekers in 2008 for the cold-case murder of hairdresser Marie Jamieson in Auckland in 2001.
The main clue police had was a semen stain from her clothing, but it did not match anyone on the DNA database.
In 2008, police did a search of the database for anyone who shared genetic traits with the person who left the semen. It threw up dozens of names, and top of the list was Reekers’ sister, Anneke Bishop, who had voluntarily given a DNA sample for a driving offence in 2002.
Bishop told the Star-Times in 2010 her role in the arrest had been devastating, leading to a nervous breakdown for both her and her mother.
‘‘He [Reekers] blamed me,’’ she said. ‘‘He said, ‘ why did you give your DNA?’ He kept saying, ‘ do you want to swap places?’ I was sitting there [in prison] shaking, having a panic attack. I’m proud that my DNA got the killer, unfortunately it’s my brother who’s the one – that’s the hard part to live with.’’