SHEYBOYGAN COUNTY (NBC 26) — In Sheboygan County, hundreds of detectives, investigators, officers, and forensic experts are investigating unsolved crimes, learning from one another and from real local cases.
This week, experts from across the state are testing new technology and sharing strategies that could crack the next cold case. Since 1996, theWisconsin Association of Homicide Investigators (WAHI) has been hosting conventions to help law enforcement specialize in death investigation.
It’s all about solving the cases that still impact families and neighborhoods across Wisconsin.
One of those cases: the 1988 murder of Betty Rolf in Little Chute. That case, once unsolved for decades, was finally closed thanks to advancements in DNA.
"This case impacted our community for decades,” said Outagamie County District Attorney Mindy Tempelis. Now, her case is helping teach investigators how to solve their own cases at a homicide training seminar in Kohler.
“When you have the opportunity to see these advancements in science and how they can help solve cases and how they can improve investigations, it's really incredible,” Tempelis said.
The seminar brings together 277 detectives, investigators, and forensic experts to learn the latest tools in genealogy, DNA analysis, and artificial intelligence and how they can be used in the courtroom and in investigations.
These tools aren't just reactive, they're predictive. From AI to data collection, law enforcement officials say this technology can pinpoint where crimes could happen and when, helping officers get there before the first call even comes in.
Advanced mapping tools, high-tech surveillance, rapid DNA testing, and AI digital data search have changed the way investigations are conducted. But even with new technology, the basics still matter.
“New technology is great — we're more efficient, maybe we're quicker — but we still have to follow all the basic steps we've always done in order to present our best case,” said law enforcement expert Wayne. “But the reality is, criminals also continue to evolve. So conferences like this try to keep us a step ahead.”
Former FBI attorney and Green Bay native Steve Kramer served as the seminar’s guest speaker. A pioneer in forensic genetic genealogy, he’s looking ahead to the future of criminal genetic testing.
“So we wanted to make this faster, like, bring it into the 21st century,” Kramer said. “So we're running an AI company that's aiming to fully make genealogy automatic, so you put the DNA in and it does all the stuff that genealogists normally do over 12.1 months, but instead of months, we'll do it in minutes.”
Kramer says he and his colleague have developed automated DNA software that can deliver answers in minutes — so families don't have to wait decades for justice.
“You have self-driving cars. Why can't you have, like, genealogy that's automated?” he said.
To learn more about Kramer’s automated AI DNA software, Indago Solutions,click HERE.
Click on the link for more information about the Wisconsin Association of Homicide Investigators
