Air Force Cold Case Team Helps Bring Justice for Kansas Victim
The Air Force Cold Case team helped police in Wichita, Kansas crack an unsolved crime. Burgeoning DNA technology played a pivotal role in the break.
A cold case is solved thanks to the efforts of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) Cold Case team and local law enforcement in Wichita, Kansas.
This case involved a 2007 home invasion in Wichita, when a masked man broke into a home and assaulted a woman. Police were unable to solve the case at the time.
However, in 2020 AFOSI and Wichita police revisited the case due to advancements in DNA genealogy techniques.
By matching crime-scene DNA with genealogical data submitted to public databases, they identified Ted Foy as the suspect, linking his DNA to evidence collected from the scene.
Foy pleaded guilty and was sentenced to over 25 years in prison on a slew of charges including rape, aggravated criminal sodomy, aggravated sexual battery, and attempted rape.
“This case underscores the importance of strong ties with our local law enforcement partners,” said AFOSI Cold Case Team chief John Fine. “Thanks to the collaborative work of the Wichita Police Department and our Cold Case team, we were able to find the truth and enable justice to be served.”
It’s the first case solved in Wichita using investigative genetic genealogy.
The technology takes a DNA sample from an unsolved case and tries to match it to data submitted to genealogy websites.
The higher the percentage match, the closer the relationship between that person and the potential suspect. From there, police can build family trees, narrow down potential suspects, and investigate.
“The Cold Case team is relentless in working to find the truth,” said Special Agent Kristian Gripp, AFOSI Associate Director of Law Enforcement. “They realize the importance of closure for victims and their families and are dedicated to keeping that hope alive through our efforts to continue working cases that have gone cold.”
AFOSI’s Cold Case team was established in 2014.