Genealogy at Central Library: A Texas Killing Field: Cold Cases, DNA, and Genetic Genealogy

CONROE, TX -- The Genealogy and Local History Room at the Conroe Central Library will be hosting a guest speaker, Genealogist Nick Cimino, who in 2019 assisted the League City Police Department by using genetic genealogy to identify two unidentified victims.

Police and the FBI have been searching for decades to solve the murders of four women. They appear to have had little in common except that the lives of these four women ended in the same place—a rural field in League City, Texas, halfway between Houston and Galveston. Two women found in the remote area off Interstate 45 were unidentified when their bodies were discovered in 1986 and 1991, so they were given the names Jane and Janet Doe.

At the time, this field in League City was a desolate location accessible only by dirt roads. The League City Police Department made numerous efforts to identify the two unknown victims. In 2018, detectives from LCPD took a different approach by using DNA Genealogy utilizing DNA profiles from Jane Doe and Janet Doe. Needing help to navigate this relatively new investigative technique, LCPD sought the assistance of local experts in the field of genealogy.

In January 2019, Nick Cimino, President of the Texas Bay Area Genealogical Society, was contacted by an officer from LCPD asking for his help with genetic genealogy. Two police officers came to the Cimino residence and explained the case. Intrigued by the mystery, Nick volunteered to teach the detectives about genetic genealogy. He agreed to review the family trees that were being built and determine if they were trending in the right direction. Was the search for the identity of Jane and Janet Doe successful? Find out more by attending this presentation.

Thursday, October 20th, 1:00-2:30 pm in the Genealogy Room, upstairs at the Conroe Central Branch Library. Open to Adults 18+.Registration is required. For more information, please call the Genealogy Department at 936-522-2138, or visit the library calendar of events at www.countylibrary.org.

For more information, please contact Laura Politte, Genealogy Librarian, at 936-522-2107 or
laura.politte@countylibrary.org.

The Montgomery County Memorial Library System has 7 locations throughout Montgomery County. The system houses a collection of approximately 650,000 books, audiobooks, and DVDs and access to a digital collection of 820,506 eBooks, eAudiobooks, and eVideos. The Montgomery County Memorial Library System is committed to being a leading resource of information, education, culture, and recreation, contributing to life-long learning, and adapting to the community's special needs and interests.