San Antonio Police Receive Federal Funding for Advanced DNA Technology to Solve Cold Cases

Breakthrough Technology Arrives in San Antonio

San Antonio police are preparing to tackle decades-old unsolved murders and sexual assaults with powerful new tools. The San Antonio Police Department is launching a new forensic genetic genealogy program aimed at solving some of the city's most stubborn cold cases — backed by just over $1 million in federal funding. This technology represents a significant advancement beyond traditional DNA testing, offering hope to families who have waited years for answers.

The $1.03 million allocation was secured by U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro through a federal community project funding request — part of a program that allows members of Congress to direct funding toward local initiatives. The funding announcement came during a press conference at San Antonio Public Safety Headquarters, where officials outlined their ambitious plans for the program.

How Genetic Genealogy Transforms Investigations

Unlike standard DNA testing that requires exact matches, forensic genealogy casts a much wider net. Forensic genealogy uses DNA evidence from a crime scene and matches it to existing DNA profiles of offenders. If the profile doesn't get a direct hit, it could match a relative that police can then trace back to the suspect. This breakthrough approach has already proven its worth nationally.

Since 2018, the approach has been used to help solve more than 1,000 cases nationwide, through GEDmatch's Genetic Witness Program. The technology gained widespread attention when it led to the capture of the Golden State Killer in 2018. Analysts use those partial matches to identify possible relatives of a suspect — sometimes distant ones — and begin building out family trees. From there, detectives rely on traditional investigative work, including public records, timelines and location data, to narrow down potential suspects before confirming a match with standard DNA testing.

Real Impact for Grieving Families

For families like Eddie Gonzalez's, this funding represents renewed hope for justice. Eddie Gonzalez said "There hasn't been a closure for six years, traveling on seven," referring to his daughter Meagan Gonzalez who was found murdered in 2019. She was found murdered, and her case has gone cold. The personal stakes couldn't be higher for families across San Antonio who have endured years without answers.

Although he was just a teenager in August 1990, the lawmaker said he vividly remembers the murders of Heidi Seeman, 11, and Erica Botello, 7. Three weeks after Seeman disappeared while walking home from a friend's house, Botello was abducted outside her West Side apartment. These cases, among many others, represent the kind of long-unsolved crimes that could benefit from genetic genealogy analysis.

Challenges and Future Outlook

Despite the substantial funding, investigators acknowledge significant limitations ahead. While the funding will launch the program, Van Geffen said the volume of cases — and the cost of testing, which can range from $20,000 to $30,000 per case — means it is only a starting point. "It'll never be enough, just because we want to solve them all," he said. Each case requires extensive laboratory work and detailed genealogical research, making the process both time-intensive and expensive.

Police Chief William McManus emphasized the program's broader significance for community safety and justice. "These are cases where traditional investigative leads have been exhausted, but the need for justice has never gone away, and never will until the cases are closed," he said. With this new technology, San Antonio joins a growing number of cities using cutting-edge science to bring closure to families and accountability to criminals who thought they had escaped justice forever.