Fifty years after the remains of a woman were found off a logging road near the town of Bedford, the New Hampshire State Police and the DNA Doe Project can confirm the woman’s identity as Katherine Ann “Kathy” Alston.
The New Hampshire attorney general’s office said on Monday that forensic testing and assistance from the nonprofit DNA Doe Project, which uses investigative genetic genealogy, helped identify Katherine Ann “Kathy” Alston, 26, of Boston. (Photo: CBSNews)
Woman Found Dead 50 Years Ago Identified, Killer Being Traced
50 years ago a body of a woman was found in New Hampshire, investigators identified the remains as a Massachusetts resident who was supposed to see her family off at the airport as they prepared to move to Texas, but never showed up.
DNA Doe Project which is a nonprofit that uses investigative genetic genealogy together with forensic testing helped identify Katherine Ann “Kathy” Alston, 26, of Boston as stated be the New Hampshire attorney general’s office on Monday.
In accordance with the DNA Doe Project, a genetic match was ultimately established with one of Alston’s siblings who had taken a DNA test and uploaded their file to GEDmatch. The group expressed that the lab work to develop a DNA profile was extensive for this one required a second bone sample.
According to a published post by CBSNews, the remains were found in the woods in Bedford, New Hampshire on Oct. 6, 1971. Alston had been dead for up to three months. It was ruled that her death was a homicide but investigators haven’t determined the cause.
Attorney General John Formella expressed that they are determined to stay on the case and will work tirelessly with law enforcement partners to follow any leads that may help determine who might be responsible for Ms. Alston’s death.
The New Hampshire attorney general’s office said on Monday that forensic testing and assistance from the nonprofit DNA Doe Project, which uses investigative genetic genealogy, helped identify Katherine Ann “Kathy” Alston, 26, of Boston. (Photo: CBSNews)
New Life in a 1971 Case: Dead Body 50 Years Ago Identified Today
There were no records of anyone who reported Alston’s disappearance. Born in Chelsea, Massachusetts, she graduated from Dorchester High School in 1963 and attended classes at Boston University. In 1967, she married fellow student Ralph Lawson Garrett, Jr. in Newton, but they later divorced. The attorney general stated that there is no evidence to suggest that the divorce was not amicable.
Alston’s parents and siblings moved from Massachusetts to Texas, where her father’s family was from towards the end of the summer of 1971. She was supposed to meet them at the Logan Airport but she did not show up, said her younger siblings.
According to Benjamin Agatti a senior assistant attorney general that it was unknown to him what family dynamics were like between Alston and her parents. He followed that he also don’t know what was said, but it was evident after the genetic match was made, they did have a chance to speak with members of her family, they just said after Mom and Dad moved them, they never saw her again and they never spoke with her.
A spokesperson for the office said that the parents are deceased and Alston’s family did not wish to comment. Based on this identification, the New Hampshire Cold Case Unit is now looking for the public’s assistance in identifying the person who murdered Ms. Alston, said the attorney general’s office.
At the time of her death, Alston was reportedly living on Beacon Street in Boston with a male roommate named David Cormier. New Hampshire Cold Case Unit investigators are trying to find him and anyone else associated with her, including residents of Boston, Dorchester and Sommerville from 1963 to 1971, and Boston University students from 1963 and 1967.
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