Every Answer Matters: Redefining “Success” in DNA Testing
Kendall Mills, Program Manager
November 2025
For families of unsolved crimes, waiting is one of the hardest parts. Years, sometimes decades, can pass without new leads or answers. Often, that delay is attributed to the limitations of older technology, but more often than not, the delay is compounded by financial constraints. That’s where Season of Justice steps in.
Through our DNA testing grants, we fund advanced forensic analysis conducted by private laboratories for agencies investigating unsolved violent crimes. These grants often cover specialized methods such as forensic genetic genealogy (FGG), single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis, Y-STR testing, mitochondrial DNA testing, or touch DNA analysis, techniques that can extract information from even the smallest or oldest pieces of evidence.
Our goal is simple: to give every piece of evidence its best chance to speak. But that process doesn’t always lead to the kind of “solve” we see on TV.
When people hear that Season of Justice funds DNA testing for cold cases, they often picture the dramatic, movie-scene moment: the lab gets a hit, detectives make an arrest, and a family finally gets justice. But the reality is rarely that simple. DNA testing doesn’t always end with a name or a solved case, especially in decades-old investigations, and that’s okay. Because even when testing doesn’t produce a direct match, it still produces answers.
At Season of Justice, we believe that answers of any kind are meaningful. Each test, every swab, every sample, moves a case forward in some way. Sometimes it confirms investigative theories. Sometimes it rules out the innocent. Sometimes it shows that an old piece of evidence is still viable, or that it has been fully exhausted and detectives can turn their attention elsewhere. In every case, DNA testing brings clarity to questions that have lingered for years.
When No DNA Is Found
Another outcome that is often misunderstood happens when evidentiary items are tested and no DNA is detected at all. It might sound discouraging, but that result is still valuable.
No DNA detected does not mean the testing failed. It means the science gave us an answer (and if you are sensing a theme here, you are getting it). Over time, biological material can degrade due to heat, moisture, environmental exposure, handling, or simply the passage of decades. In some instances, the evidence collected originally just was not stored under conditions that would preserve DNA the way today’s labs require.
Knowing that no usable DNA remains helps investigators understand which avenues are not possible, which can be just as crucial as identifying which ones are. It prevents false assumptions, focuses attention on new strategies, and closes the door on decades of uncertainty about what might still be hiding inside an evidence box.
What “No DNA Match” Really Means
We’ve previously talked about STR profiles and how unknown suspect DNA is entered into CODIS to scan against the national database in hopes of identifying the offender. But many times, profiles come back without a CODIS hit or without a match to any reference samples (DNA collected directly from potential witnesses or persons of interest). This can be a real blow for families who pinned their hopes on DNA providing immediate answers.
But a “no match” result is not a dead end. It is new information.
It might show that someone previously considered a person of interest can be definitively ruled out. Or it could mean that the person responsible simply is not in the database yet.
That last part is crucial. DNA databases grow every day as more profiles are added through arrests and convictions. The same is true for genealogical databases. The more people who upload their DNA data to GEDmatch or FamilyTreeDNA and opt in for law enforcement matching, the greater the chance genealogists have of narrowing down the suspect pool.
A case that yields no match in 2025 might hit in 2028.
We’ve seen this firsthand in one of our recent SOJ solves. SOJ funded SNP analysis for the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office in early 2021. While the testing concluded within the year, FBI genealogists initially struggled to identify relatives in the public databases. Fast forward to just last week on November 7, 2025, investigators were finally able to identify the person who killed Rickey Herriage in 1987.
That is why completing DNA testing now is still progress. It positions law enforcement to act the moment new information becomes available.
The Power of Clarity
Families of unsolved cases live in a constant state of “what if.” What if the evidence was lost? What if it was never tested? What if no one is looking? When Season of Justice funds DNA testing, those questions finally start getting answers.
Even when testing does not identify the offender, it can tell a family that every possible step has been taken with the evidence that remains. It can confirm that nothing was overlooked, that science was used to its fullest potential, and that their loved one’s case is still a priority. That kind of dedication, even without an arrest, carries real weight.
Building a Foundation for the Future
The landscape of forensic science is constantly evolving. New technology such as advanced DNA extraction methods, probabilistic genotyping, and FGG has already transformed the field, and it will continue to do so. Every round of testing helps preserve critical evidence and lays the groundwork for future breakthroughs.
In many cases, the work funded by Season of Justice today is what allows detectives and analysts to take the next leap when new tools emerge. That is how progress in cold cases happens: step by step, test by test, generation by generation of technology.
Measuring Success Differently
At Season of Justice, success is not measured solely by solved cases. It is measured by movement. It is measured in the families who receive updates for the first time in years, in the detectives who gain new leads or eliminate dead ends, and in the cases that stand ready for the next scientific advancement.
Because when it comes to unsolved crimes, every answer matters. Each test brings us closer to understanding what happened, and each piece of clarity is a step toward justice, no matter how small.
Together, those steps add up. They build momentum. They remind families that their loved one’s story is still being written, and that hope, like DNA itself, can endure for decades.
Together towards justice,
Kendall