ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Albuquerque police and the FBI finally discovered the identities of two victims decades after the crimes by using genealogy.

The remains of two women were discovered back in 1994 in one case and in 2013 in the other. Since then, police had no idea who they were, let alone who killed them.

Albuquerque police say they were able to use DNA from the victim’s remains and turn that into a profile. From there, they’re able to upload the profiles to genetic testing sites like 23andMe.

If they get a match, then they start the process of tracking down the victim’s family.

“You can take DNA that’s left behind at a crime scene or that from a victim in this case, and we turn it into an ancestral profile,” said APD Commander Kyle Hartsock. 

It’s science based on chance.

“As you’re doing these investigations, new people can upload their DNA. So one day you log in, and all of a sudden you have a first cousin who tested, and yesterday you only have a third cousin,” said Hartsock. 

Hartsock says the department and the FBI are using genealogy to solve cold cases.

“It gets us on a path, it gives us a lead,” Hartsock said. 

After uploading a victim or suspect’s DNA to a genetic testing site, they wait for a hit. From there, Hartsock says they do old-fashioned detective work.

“You have to get very close to actually confirm who it is. And then, while talking with the families, they said, ‘Oh yeah, we haven’t seen our daughter or granddaughter since this time,’” said Hartsock.

APD and the FBI were able to do this, this year, identifying Carmela Vivian Duran, and Terry Matthews as the remains discovered in 1994 and 2013.

 “We could let their families know that they had been found, even though they were deceased, that they were found and that They were also murdered, and now we have more information to actually progress forward on a murder investigation,” Hartsock said. 

In Jan. 24, 1994, Duran’s skull, upper denture and other bones were found along I-40 by 98th Street.

“It’s not uncommon that one case will take several months from the point we start, and we might not even get to the end,” said Hartsock. 

In these cases, years. In 2006, police were able to put Duran’s DNA into the national DNA database, CODIS. But still, nothing.

Fast-forward to 2022 when a Crime Stoppers bulletin was posted and then a federal grant funding was approved for additional DNA testing.

“The grant helps not only pay for the testing, but pay for the teams that it takes to build out family trees and go and interview people and do more testing. So those grants combined is just over $2 million for three years,” said Hartsock. 

Matthews’ bones were found months apart in January 2013 and later in September 2013 near Broadway Boulevard and Murray Road.

APD and the FBI were able to use the grant to find her identity. That case has been handed back to the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office.

Now that law enforcement knows who these women are, it’s a piece of the puzzle in finding out who killed them.

Hartsock says they’ll find out more about the women and interview the people who were in their lives.

If you know anything, call the Crime Stoppers at (505)-843-STOP.