IT’S IN THE GENES

DNA From Vanilla Coke Can Cracks 1981 Colorado Murder

Genealogical sleuthing identified a suspect, but it was a soda can that nailed it.

Colorado police say they have cracked the brutal 1981 murder of a wedding-cake baker through DNA found on a discarded Vanilla Coke can. David Dwayne Anderson, 62, is accused of breaking into Sylvia Quayle’s home and sexually assaulting, strangling, and stabbing her to death four decades ago, 9 News reports. Genetic material collected from the crime scene did not turn up a suspect at the time, but a year ago, investigators from a company working with police used new genealogical sleuthing techniques and DNA databases to come up with a name and address. Then an investigator collected about 15 items from garbage bags Anderson had tossed in his building’s dumpster, including a Vanilla Coke, a beer bottle, a rum bottle, and a water bottle. Police say the DNA on the soda can matched the DNA from the crime scene.