Pohewa is a small New Zealand town facing some tricky criminal investigations.
Case 1
A brutal cricket bat attack
All is not well in downtown Pohewa. Josh has been attacked brutally with a cricket bat and the town’s top crime scene investigator, Detective Jess Hodges, has to solve the crime. How can Jess use DNA to help her solve the crime and who should she be able to obtain DNA samples from?
Case 2
The butcher brother
Li Wei has been found dead on the outskirts of Pohewa. There are no suspects in the case but DNA has been found on a meat cleaver left at the scene. Could the DNA belong to Li Wei’s attacker?
Case 3
A late night intruder
Hana was attacked in her bed late at night. She fought the attacker off, scratching him in the process. Hana is unable to describe the attacker but Detective Jess has obtained clippings from Hana’s fingernails and sent them off for DNA analysis. Could scientists use the DNA to identify the likely ethnicity of Hana’s attacker?
Case 4
Big data
Imeleta is a government-funded health researcher who wants access to DNA Profiles on the National DNA Profile Databank. She wants to find out if convicted people on the Databank have chromosomal defects so the government can target funding to help children with the same chromosomal defects.