- October 10, 2024
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More than 30 years after her remains were found in a wooded area of Daytona Beach, a homicide victim has been identified using forensic genetic genealogy.
On Thursday, Sept. 28, Volusia County Sheriff's Office detectives notified the family of Roberta “Bobbie” Lynn Weber of the new DNA match in the April 1990 homicide investigation.
A passerby on a wooded trail found Weber’s remains in the woods east of Clyde Morris Boulevard and about a mile and a half north of Strickland Range Road on April 23, 1990.
Weber would have been 32 years old at the time. Her remains were not identifiable, and no clothing or personal property could be found. Her DNA was collected and entered into a national database, but there were no matches.
This year, the VSO Major Case Unit consulted with Othram Laboratories, a forensic genetic genealogy lab in Texas, and worked with the Medical Examiner’s Office to have the DNA samples submitted for analysis.
Several weeks later, Othram Labs said they’d reconstructed the victim’s family tree using data from public genealogical sites. That family tree included a Missouri woman, likely the victim’s sister.
Detectives contacted the woman in Missouri, and she confirmed that she hadn’t seen her sister since 1989. She said Weber had divorced her husband in 1989 and disappeared. She believed her sister was either dead or living in California.
Detectives also identified and contacted three of Weber’s children, all of whom hadn't seen their mother since 1989.
The sister and a daughter provided DNA samples, and on Thursday, Sept. 28, Othram Labs confirmed that they matched to Roberta “Bobbie” Lynn Weber, maiden name Headley.
The homicide remains unsolved, but with the victim finally identified, detectives are asking anyone who might have information to come forward. Contact the Major Case Unit at 386-254-1537 or [email protected].
