ELi5: How does DNA tests identify a person if that persons DNA is in no database?

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Say a crime has been committed, and the police find either blood or semen at the crime scene. However, the perpetrator has committed no prior crimes and therefore his DNA is in no database or registry. How are analyst able to find out who the perpetrator is through analyzing either the blood or semen found at the scene?

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Anonymous 0 Comments

DNA is linked to family members. You can conclude with a very high level of confidence that certain people are related to others by comparing DNA between people. So if they have family members that are in any database, like 23andme and not just a LE database, they can match on a certain % of similarity. Then LE goes down that path to see what becomes of it because it drastically narrows the field.

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