Police in Canada Will Use a DNA Dragnet to Find Killer

On Aug. 30, 2010, Sonia Varaschin, age 42, was murdered in Orangeville, Ontario, Canada. Now, police are widening their hunt for her killer by using a mass DNA dragnet. The target group will include any and all male adults who knew Ms. Varaschin. The testing will be done at Toronto's Centre of Forensic Sciences. Using a small stick that resembles a Q-tip, saliva will be swabbed from inside of the person's cheeks and compared to the forensic DNA evidence that was found at the Varaschin crime scene.

The murder of Ms. Varaschin, a nurse who lived alone in Orangeville, shocked the normally quiet town of 42,000. At the time of her disappearance, she was working for a Mississauga pharmaceutical company, and police have already explored several avenues that might narrow the hunt for her killer.

Ms. Varaschin's bloodstained white Toyota Corolla was found abandoned near her home. After an intensive search, her body was found several days later in a patch of woods in Caledon. Police believe that she was killed in the bedroom of her home, and that her murderer probably wore size 10-11 work boots sold at Mark's Work Wearhouse outlets.

On May 25, 2011, Constable Peter Leon, announced that the police had identified the killer's DNA, and it was only a matter of time before he would be identified. Leon continued by saying that it could take up to three weeks to collect all the samples from the dragnet, but couldn't say how long it will take to get the results.

If there is no match, the donor will be notified by letter and the sample destroyed, to ameliorate concerns it might be used for a fishing expedition in any future investigations. Anyone declining the request for a specimen of their saliva - there is no legal requirement to provide one - will draw scrutiny.