Christine Burke von Riddern Forensic Genetic Genealogist - FGG

10/31/2025

IDENTIFIED! Malquan Tyreek Hawkins

This was a long, hard and personal one for me.

I vowed to never give up, and get him identified, and we did.

A huge shout out to the Chief Mike Fanning of the Pawleys Island PD who brought me in to help along with the Horry County Medical Examiner's Office.

I hope he and his family can rest in peace 💙 🙏

10/27/2025

My student recently hit that wall...

She was deep in the data, clicking through trees, color-coding matches, zooming in on every branch, trying to force the answer to make sense.

Hours passed. Days passed. Her confidence faded.

Here's what she missed:
❌ It’s not that the data stopped working.
🗸 It’s that she stopped trusting the process.

The biggest skill in this field isn’t overthinking the cM chart. It’s knowing when to pause and ask two simple questions:

🤔 Do I actually have the right person?
🤔 Does that person even know who they are?

The DNA was fine. The method was fine. SHE was the variable that drifted.

That’s why it's so important to step back, reset, and read the data like an investigator, not a perfectionist.

Because the truth in every case lives right here in the quote:

“Either you have the wrong person or the person does not know who they are.”

And once you understand that, you stop guessing,and start solving.

10/23/2025

10/15/2025

Free training for law enforcement:

Culling the Cold Cases: How to Use AI to Triage Stalled Files Fast.

Learn to re-read old homicide files, find overlooked leads, and flag solvable cases.

⚠️ Agency (.gov / .us) email required.

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/mCjwQU-XTnCfo0WXGJkxBA #/registration

10/09/2025

It still hurts today.

My mom was robbed of her identity by Dementia in 2016.

But actually, my grandmother took her true one, when she faked the father's name on her birth certificate.

Mom was so proud of me as a cop. And she LOVED police procedural books.

Probably the reason this is not a "business" for me and instead something so, so much more personal.

I promise, every single one of you Unknown Humans....I'm coming to help and I'm bringing an army with me.

09/02/2025

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻’𝘀 𝗗𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗺𝗮

My students and I were debating “means versus ends” the other day, and these common theories came up:

“𝘞𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩.”
“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴.”

Here’s the problem with that thinking: 𝗶𝘁 𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂.

It’s like the fisherman in this picture.

His net is already overflowing with fish, but he’s staring at the big one swimming just out of reach.

That’s the dilemma.
If you wait for “the big one,” you ignore the smaller ones that actually build the case.

And if you excuse shortcuts because “the ends justify the means,” you miss the integrity and accuracy that make the work defensible.

The truth is, those small matches—𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂—are the foundation.

They’re how you solve cases the right way, without gambling, without cutting corners.

Don’t fall for the Fisherman’s Dilemma.

08/29/2025

A HOMICIDE DETECTIVE for $297/mo. (or $497 for 1:1).

Yes - me. A retired homicide detective and forensic genetic genealogist.

You choose the level of support your agency needs:

🔹 Group Call – $297/mo

Weekly live group call with me — bring your cases, I walk you through step by step.

Access to my full training program — so your officers build in-house skills.

Ongoing support — every month you stay in, I’m in your corner.

🔹 1:1 Call – $497/mo

Weekly private call with me — a second set of homicide eyes on your cold cases.

Access to my full training program — your officers gain Genetic Genealogy capability while you get direct case help.

Dedicated consulting support for your agency.

Now, think about it…
👮 One PATROL officer costs $76,000–$140,000 per year.
📂 Vendors charge $8,000–$12,000 per case to take the work away.

For $297–$497/month, you keep control, add an extra homicide detective at your side, and start building your own genetic genealogy division.

This is real-time homicide + Genetic Genealogy case support.

📅 Book a call here: https://tidycal.com/1vkvo73/le-genetic-genealogy-case-consult

08/29/2025

He was killed by a Phoenix driver 19 years ago. Here's how he was finally identified - azcentral.com and The Arizona Republic
https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiogFBVV95cUxPM1F4QXM0MTBVYS1uQUlVNDJ4RTN6UzZtdThSaWFiNzJUamFfOWVFSmJGU0o2aloxZ0dRM2loc3pscFF2ZnJlTEZJZUdUcVVJOUl2aThzV3psSnlDV08zS1AtYXB4UGNPSFNSd0hCSHlSeHViMWlFSDBXQXhOY2hCREZZQWxkSTMtOXFPeGVqbWZiV0U2SnRLVFpRdzd6R2xMemc?oc=5 via Google

08/29/2025

After 16 Years, Thurston County John Doe (2009) is Identified - DNASolves.com
https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiaEFVX3lxTE1pVnVkTEZETWw2WUJqUHNBbmtEeE82TzZGWlJEV0dRQ1JfS1NQc1hpQm80UUYyazBTMEVXSHliWTByeWNuYm1BMElacnpxNXBCZG5PVExRd2lYRWY0S2xvTXR5Ny0xQVBZ?oc=5 via Google