How did forensic technology solve a 25-year cold case in Pueblo County?
The Pueblo County Sheriff's Office (PCSO) along with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation worked with Othram, a forensic DNA Lab in Texas, to identify the remains of 34-year-old Marvin Majors on Monday.
'There are hundreds of thousands of unsolved violent crimes in the United States, and tens of thousands of unidentified John and Jane Does,' said Colby Lasyone, the Chief of Staff at Othram.
Majors' remains were found in November of 2000. The Sheriff's Office said the Oklahoma native was homeless and was believed to have been sleeping in a field just north of the Walking Stick development when a woman walking her dog found his body. For years, Major's remains were not identified, which is why you typically hear the term 'John and Jane Doe' used in cold cases.
'These are people who die without their name being known, as well as cases where there's a crime that's been committed and there's some DNA evidence left behind,' Lasyone said.
This case was reopened in June of 2021 when the sheriff's office found a DNA profile related to the case completed by the FBI. After, the sheriff's office created a new DNA sample from evidence collected from the scene. The evidence was then submitted to Othram to try and put together a DNA profile.
Once they believe they can, the process of forensic grade genome sequencing begins, which requires working through lots of data provided to put together any sort of profile.
'It's very comprehensive, composed of hundreds of thousands of DNA data points or DNA markers,' Lasyone said.
It all depends on the data available. Lasyone said it can take days, weeks or even months to put together some type of profile.
'In this particular case, we were able to develop the DNA profile in a matter of weeks and provide it back to the folks in Colorado,' Lasyone said.
In November 2024, a DNA match was made with a distant family member of Majors. After obtaining another sample from a suspected sibling, the DNA comparison was a match to the unidentified man, which was identified as Majors. This is the sixth cold case Othram has solved in Colorado, and they are hoping to help crack more across the country.
'Instead of having one lab in Texas that can help to build these DNA profiles, our vision is that there are labs across the United States and the world that have the same capabilities,' Lasyone said.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
26 minutes ago
- CBS News
Man in his 20s shot and killed on Chicago's South Side
A man in his 20s was shot and killed in Chicago's West Pullman neighborhood early Wednesday morning. Just before 1 a.m., Chicago police said a man, around 20 to 25 years old, was inside his car in the 12000 block of South LaSalle Street when a dark vehicle approached. Police said someone inside the dark vehicle pulled out a gun and fired multiple shots at the victim's vehicle. The man was shot in the head and taken to Christ Hospital, where he died. Chicago police said a weapon was recovered from the scene. No arrests have been made. Police are investigating.
CNN
30 minutes ago
- CNN
Fireworks warehouse explodes in California
Fire crews responded to a large explosion at a fireworks warehouse in California on July 1st. Several explosions could be seen from the building, which sparked additional spot fires. The sheriff's office said a one-mile evacuation order was put in place around the area where the fire was burning.
Fast Company
38 minutes ago
- Fast Company
Lululemon claims Costco knocked off its designs. Online, the big-box retailer has already won
On June 27, Lululemon filed a lawsuit alleging that Costco has infringed on its copyright with several 'knockoff' athleisure products. It's just the latest chapter in a story of dupe design that's plagued Lululemon for years. According to documents filed with the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Lululemon takes issue with a number of Costco products that it says are intended to mimic its popular designs, including the $128 Define jacket, the $118 Scuba oversize half-zip hoodie, and the $128 ABC trouser. The documents lay out an in-depth explanation for Lululemon's identification of these 'dupes,' pointing to details like the ornamental lines on the front of the Define jacket and the construction of the ABC pants' back seam as examples of intellectual property copied by Costco in its own line of jackets and pants. As details of the lawsuit emerge, the overwhelming majority of commenters on social media are landing firmly on Costco's side of this debate. It seems that dupe design culture is becoming so normalized that many consumers view it as standard practice. Lululemon and the rise of dupe culture In recent years, dupe design culture has been taking over the way we shop. From makeup brand copycats to luxury furniture look-alikes and fragrance knockoffs, it's likely that if you've been in the market for a higher-end product recently you've stumbled across a cheaper version of said product that seems suspiciously familiar. For Lululemon, this cycle is turning into a tale as old as time. On TikTok, the hashtag #lululemondupe currently yields more than 11,000 videos; videos of affordable dupes of Lululemon products routinely garner hundreds of thousands of views. Lululemon points to this trend in its suit against Costco. 'There is even a hashtag 'LululemonDupes' on social media platforms such as TikTok that social media influencers use when promoting these copycat products,' the documents read. 'The Infringing Products create an improper association with [Lululemon's] authentic products.' According to the U.S. Copyright Office, copyright infringement occurs 'when a copyrighted work is reproduced, distributed, performed, publicly displayed, or made into a derivative work without the permission of the copyright owner.' That can look different depending on the industry, but in the fashion world it generally protects patented clothing designs that are artistic rather than utilitarian in nature. For example, Lululemon argues in its lawsuit that the ornamental features of the Define jacket are 'not essential to the function of the product,' meaning those features are not a 'competitive necessity' for other companies' apparel products, and therefore should belong to Lululemon alone. This isn't the first time Lululemon has stood up against alleged copycats. Back in 2021, the brand filed a lawsuit against Peloton—a former collaborator— arguing that the fitness company had stolen its women's athleisure designs, a claim that was ultimately settled out of court in 2022. Lululemon then took a softer tack against dupes in 2023, when it hosted an event encouraging consumers with Lululemon dupes to trade them in for the real thing. 'It's a trend we don't see going away anytime soon. So we decided to actually lean in and embrace it, rather than pretend it's not there,' Nikki Neuburger, Lululemon's chief brand officer, told Fast Company at the time. The internet sides with Costco Now Lululemon is once again objecting to what it sees as infringing designs, but in the court of public opinion, it appears the brand has already lost. On TikTok, one video from the user @thatssority explained Lululemon's argument that Costco's alleged infringing products might cause customer confusion. Per the actual legal filing, 'Upon information and belief, some customers incorrectly believe these Infringing Products are authentic lululemon apparel while still other customers specifically purchase the Infringing Products because they are difficult to distinguish from authentic lululemon products.' (Potential customer confusion is often the basis for trademark infringement litigation as well.) Several commenters took issue with Lululemon's assertion that Costco's products might be confused for theirs: 'Not a single person has ever been confused about if they're buying lulu or kirkland,' one comment with more than 30,000 likes reads. 'Boycott lululemon because I don't play about Costco,' another adds.
