AI Summary
5 min readThe After Show: Home Alone
On February 17, 2015, 31-year-old Alison Feldman was murdered in her own home in Scottsdale, Arizona. She was a medical supplies sales representative who worked with burn victims, a new homeowner described by those who knew her as a bright light. Her boyfriend found her body after a brutal attack. Investigators initially looked at him as a suspect, then excluded him. The case went unsolved for years until a DNA breakthrough led to an arrest. But the path from crime scene to conviction reveals how forensic DNA technology has evolved far beyond what most people understand.
What DNA can do that fingerprints and photos cannot
"The most powerful biometric," is how Kristen Middleman describes DNA. "People can change their appearance. They can change their name. They can even burn their hands and conceal fingerprints. DNA is one of those biometrics you cannot conceal."
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What you'll learn
- 1 The After Show: Home Alone — Timestamped Outline
- 2 (00:29) **Welcome & Episode Context** - Deborah Roberts introduces the episode about Alison Feldman's murder and the DNA technology that helped solve it
- 3 (02:08) **Introducing the Experts: David & Kristen Middleman** - The married couple behind Othram, a company using cutting-edge DNA technology to solve cold cases
- 4 (03:08) **Why DNA Is the Most Powerful Biometric** - Kristen explains why DNA is unique among forensic tools
- 5 (04:23) **The Origin Story: From Blind Mice to Cold Cases** - How a biomedical research couple pivoted to forensic science
- 6 (06:34) **The Gap: Consumer DNA vs. Police DNA** - David explains the absurd disparity between what consumers and investigators can learn from DNA
- 7 (09:30) **How CODIS Works — and Its Limits** - Kristen explains why the FBI database often fails to identify perpetrators
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Show Notes
Othram founders David and Kristen Mittelman reveal how cutting-edge DNA technology helped unlock answers in the murder case of Allison Feldman…and how their work is transforming cold cases.
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