Investigators have recently sought the services of Parabon NanoLabs (Parabon), a DNA technology company in Virginia that specializes in DNA phenotyping, the process of predicting physical appearance and ancestry from unidentified DNA evidence. Law enforcement agencies use the company’s Snapshot™ DNA Phenotyping Service (Snapshot) for narrowing suspect lists and generating leads in criminal investigations.
Using DNA evidence from Mr. Oakey Kite’s Homicide investigation, Snapshot produced trait predictions for the associated person of interest. An individual’s predictions were made for ancestry, eye color, hair color, skin color, freckling and face shape. By combining these attributes of appearance, a Snapshot composite profile was produced that depicts what the person of interest may have looked like at 25 years old.
It is important to note that Snapshot composites are scientific approximations of appearance based on DNA, and are not likely to be exact replicas of appearance. Environmental factors such as smoking, drinking, diet, and other non-environmental factors, such as facial hair, hairstyle, scars, etc. cannot be predicted by DNA analysis and may cause further variation between the person of interest’s predicted and actual appearance.
On May 24th, 2004 Officers found the body of Oakey Kite in the basement of his town home at 2002 South Helena Street. Mr. Kite had failed to report to work which prompted co-workers to call the police for a welfare check. Mr. Kite had been bound, tortured, and killed with his own kitchen knives. The suspect cleaned the crime scene after the homicide and removed items of evidence from the scene. The investigation revealed that Mr. Kite had recently placed an ad in the paper and on the internet for a roommate. This ad was answered by the suspect, who used the name Robert Cooper. The information Robert Cooper gave the victim was false. After the murder, Mr. Kite’s credit card were used at nearby Wells Fargo ATM. The suspect was photographed at the ATM machine wearing a mask and gloves in the victim’s vehicle. The victim’s vehicle was returned near the victim’s residence.
If you or someone you know can provide information on this unresolved homicide investigation, you are encouraged to contact Agent Thomas Sobieski at (303) 739-6103, e-mail [email protected].
Acting Sergeant Diana Cooley
Public Information Officer
Media Relations Unit
720.432.5095
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