38-Year-Old Birmingham Cold Case Solved After DNA Testing

Authorities in Alabama have successfully identified the remains of Bryant Keith Bates, a young man who vanished from Birmingham in 1988. Although his skeleton was discovered by an exterminator in a residential crawl space back in 2004, the case remained cold for decades due to a lack of DNA matches. Investigators eventually utilized forensic genetic genealogy to locate the victim's living relatives and confirm his identity. An autopsy determined that the 21-year-old had been murdered by a gunshot to the head. This breakthrough marks the second time the local coroner's office has used this advanced DNA testing to solve a long-standing mystery. The resolution of this nearly four-decade-old case provides answers to a family that had long suspected foul play.

This episode includes AI-generated content.