Yahoo Finance Home DNA test sparks body in wall bombshell
A Sydney woman’s simple decision to select a box allowing police access to DNA uploaded to an ancestry website led to the identification of skeletal remains mysteriously found buried in a wall of a Brisbane unit complex.
Queensland Police worked tirelessly to try to identify human remains found in the garage area of an Alderley block of units in Brisbane’s north on December 7.
Nine months on, Queensland Police were finally able to confirm the skeletal remains discovered were that of Tanya Lee Glover, who would have been about 38 years old at the time of her death.
Police allege Ms Glover’s body was disposed of between 2009 and 2010.
But Ms Glover’s identity may have never been discovered unless Donna Truscott hadn’t opted to agree to police accessing DNA she’d uploaded to an ancestry website, GEDMatch, in 2017.
Ms Truscott said she had initially decided to take a DNA test with her mother, aunt and sister “for giggles” to learn more about her mother’s paternal side.
She said she was also interested in learning more about her father’s paternal side of the family in an effort to look for her grandfather Donald Gordon Buckley, who's been missing since the 1950s.
After reading about a nationwide appeal for people to submit their DNA to the police for a national database, Ms Truscott said she decided to provide her DNA directly to NSW Police as it might help her track down her grandfather.
But when Queensland Police touched base with Ms Truscott in June this year, she wasn’t expecting their reason for calling.
“The officer said ‘I’m actually calling you in relation to the body of a female that was found underneath a unit complex in Alderley in Queensland last year’,” Ms Truscott recalled.
The officer explained to Ms Truscott that the DNA she’d uploaded via GEDMatch in 2017 had been a match to an unidentified woman found in the Brisbane unit complex.
“Their genealogist was able to see a maternal link, through my mum, my aunty, my sister and I,” Ms Truscott said.
“She’s very distant related but there was enough DNA there to undeniably narrow it down.”
The breakthrough in discovering Ms Glover’s identity involved the Australian Federal Police’s national DNA program.
Brisbane regional crime co-ordinator Detective Superintendent Andrew Massingham said in August the program used a familial DNA to match potential family members to missing people.
“Through the familial DNA process, there’s certain DNA markers which are used to match what was an unidentified DNA victim from Ms Glover to known DNA profiles of biological relatives,” Superintendent Massingham said.
“The AFP can through their skill set identify people within that family tree and with the assistance of investigators narrow down that search.”
While the identity of Ms Glover was an enormous step forward, police are still investigating how she died and those who might be responsible.
Ms Glover was not formally known to Queensland Police, and no missing person reports had ever been made concerning her welfare.
Upon discovering her identity, Ms Glover’s parents were then alerted by police of her death.
It’s understood she moved to Queensland from NSW in 2006 and lived in the Fortitude Valley area until 2010.
She was visually and hearing impaired.
There have been no arrests made or charges laid in relation to her death or disappearance.
Superintendent Massingham said investigators were still trying to determine her cause of death, but there was evidence of trauma.
“This information is very fresh at this stage,” Superintendent Massingham said.
“There were a number of items located at the scene in terms of wrappings and the like that I spoke of at the time, they’re still the subject of ongoing DNA inquiries and also further ongoing forensic work.
“Our priority was to identify our victim and the other times were secondary, but they’ll be part of the investigation.”
Ms Glover is described as caucasian in appearance, between 155cm and 165cm tall, and she had dark brown hair.
As the investigation continues, Ms Truscott said her family were “honoured to have helped give Tanya back her identity”.
“I’d like to say I guess we played an important part in that, but the police put in all the work, they built a massive family tree of three generations with possibly hundreds of people,” Ms Truscott said.
“How incredible that for science, for DNA, for unsolved victims of homicide, the evolution of this is absolutely outstanding.
“It’s a good thing, I don’t regret uploading the DNA.
“You never imagined in a million years your DNA will solve the identity of someone like Tanya.”
Ms Truscott encouraged others to opt in to police accessing DNA profiles.
“So many people are under the impression to DNA to these websites that the DNA will be used against you but that’s not the case,” she said.
“I definitely encourage people who have done DNA testing go on to GEDMatch, there’s over 700 unidentified human remains in Australia.
“It’s important to these people to be returned to their families.
“For me that gives me hope that my grandfather is found somewhere.”
Ms Truscott said she was confident police would continue to find answers for Ms Glover and her family.
“We understand in today’s day and age, it’s important for her face and story to stay in the media because the people who murdered her have gone more than a decade ago thinking they got away with it,” she said.
“We hope she finds peace.”
Superintendent Massingham urged anyone who might have known Ms Glover between 2006 and 2010 to contact police.
“This is a single, vulnerable lady that lived a very carefree lifestyle and for whatever reason has been targeted for an unknown purpose and been dealt with in a very horrid way in the way they’ve concealed and left her body in that area for a number of years,” he said.
Anyone with information in relation to any person who may have known Ms Glover, or had any interactions with her, particularly during the 2006 to 2010 period, is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or online.
