DNA

South Florida Detectives Use DNA to Track Down Suspect in Old Case

The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office tracked down Luis Ruiz Gonzalez, 47, last week after the 2008 case was presented to a grand jury

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Investigators in Florida used DNA to solve a 13-year-old home invasion case.

The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office tracked down Luis Ruiz Gonzalez, 47, last week after the 2008 case was presented to a grand jury, the Palm Beach Post reported.

Authorities used new DNA technology to obtain a DNA profile throught the Combined DNA Index System. The system includes a series of databases and software systems coordinated by the FBI.

“This CODIS profile resulted in a match to the suspect, Luis Ruiz Gonzalez,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement. “Further investigation led to a direct source DNA sample, which was compared to the profile and led to a match.”

Sheriff's deputies were called to the home in Lake Worth Beach early in the morning of Sept. 27, 2008. There, they found one man dead from a gunshot wound. Another victim had been sexually assaulted.

DNA from the scene matched the profile of Ruiz Gonzalez, the sheriff's office said. He was arrested on Friday and booked into jail.

He is charged with first-degree murder, home invasion robbery and lewd and lascivious battery. Jail records didn't list a lawyer who could speak on his behalf.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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