I’ve known CeCe Moore for more than ten years. After doing a video about my DNA success story, she got into helping other adoptees find their birth families. More recently, she is applying her skills to solving major crimes. Her new series on ABC is called The Genetic Detective and I am sharing the details here.
Genetic Detective Series Description
All-new series “The Genetic Detective” follows investigative genetic genealogist CeCe Moore as she uses her unique research skills to transform the face of crime solving. By working with police departments and crime scene DNA, Moore is able to trace the path of a violent criminal’s family tree to reveal their identity and help bring them to justice. “The Genetic Detective” is a co-production with ABC News and XCON Productions. Carrie Cook and Marc Dorian serve as co-executive producers for ABC News. Christine Connor is executive producer and Christopher K. Dillon is co-executive producer for XCon Productions. CeCe Moore is producer.
Genetic Detective Episodes
EPISODE 1: “The Double Homicide of Jay Cook & Tanya Van Cuylenborg” – In the series premiere of “The Genetic Detective,” CeCe Moore, a genetic genealogist who has spent years helping adoptees find their birth parents, works with Seattle’s Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office and takes on her first ever cold case – the double homicide of Jay Cook and Tanya Van Cuylenborg. The young couple disappeared in 1987 after taking a ferry from Vancouver to Seattle and were later found miles apart, gagged, bound and brutally murdered. With a smattering of clues, but no real leads, the case was cold for 30 years. The episode includes interviews with Jay’s parents, Gordon and Leona Cook, Tanya’s brother John Van Cuylenborg, Snohomish County law enforcement Ret. Sheriff Rick Bart and Detective Jim Scharf and radio reporter Hanna Scott.
EPISODE 2: “Sherri & Megan Scherer, 1998” – Investigative Genetic Genealogist CeCe Moore works with the New Madrid County Sheriff’s Department and Greenville Police Department on the 1998 murder of Sherri and Megan Scherer, a mother and daughter from New Madrid, Missouri. The investigation takes CeCe and detectives on a series of unexpected detours across the country. The episode features interviews with Steven Scherer, son and brother to the victims, law enforcement from New Madrid, Greenville, S.C. and Memphis, Tenn., the killer’s daughter Deborah Brashers-Claunch, DNA expert Ruth Montgomery and TV reporter Kathy Sweeney.
EPISODE 3: “Angie Dodge, 1996” – Police in Idaho Falls, Idaho, are on the lookout for the suspect of the 1996 murder of Angie Dodge, an 18-year-old woman who was raped and murdered in her own apartment. In order to help track the killer – and clear an innocent man’s record – investigative Genetic Genealogist CeCe Moore must work with the most degraded DNA sample every used in genetic genealogy to identify a killer. The episode features interviews with Angie’s mother Carol Dodge, Angie’s friend Tim Quick, Idaho Falls Police Department’s Captain Bill Squires and Detective Jeff Pratt, Chris Tapp the formerly accused and his defense attorney John Thomas and reporter Bryan Clark.
EPISODE 4: “The Ramsey Street Rapist” – From 2006 to 2008 a series of unsolved rapes have haunted residents in Fayetteville, N.C. Investigative Genetic Genealogist CeCe Moore works on the case with the Fayetteville Police Department while she attends CrimeCon, an annual true crime convention held in New Orleans. The episode includes interviews with survivor Kobi Haschen, Fayetteville Police Department’s Lieutenant John Somerindyke and former supervisor Lieutenant Kellie Berg, Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Liz Herring and reporter Paul Woolverton.
EPISODE 5: “April Tinsley, 1988” – The killer of eight-year-old April Tinsley has been taunting police for decades in Fort Wayne, Ind., leaving notes and threats with perfectly good DNA samples, but not enough DNA to catch him, until now. Interviews featured in the episode include April’s mother Janet Tinsley and cousin Kristina Snyder, Fort Wayne Police Department’s Detective Brian Martin and retired Detective Danny Jackson, coroner Chris Meihls, retired forensic scientist Linda McDonald, reporter Jamie Duffy and Parabon NanoLabs Founder Steve Armentrout and Director of Bioinformatics Ellen Greytak.
EPISODE 6: “Carla Brooks, 2018” – Investigative Genetic Genealogist CeCe Moore gets an urgent email from a St. George, Utah, detective asking her to work her first ever ‘hot’ case – the rape of a 79-year-old woman that happened just three weeks prior. CeCe gets to work, knowing the rapist could easily strike again, and this time, he could kill. Interviews featured in the episode include victim Carla Brooks, St. George Police Department’s Detective Josh Wilson and reporter Jessica Miller.
