On February 7th, the Bowers Writers House hosted Elizabethtown College alumnus Eric Schubert ‘23 in an event titled, “Capturing the Cold Case: Eric Schubert’s Journey through Forensic Exploration.” Schubert, who graduated with a public history degree, is an internationally recognized genealogist and a Forensic Genetic Genealogist with ES Genealogy.
Schubert began his career in genealogy at the age of ten, after teaching himself how to assess genetic linkages and reach conclusions based on these findings. Schubert believes that this area of research is not fully understood, and he has made it a goal of his to talk to people about the work he does and how it relates to peoples’ daily lives. Schubert has been featured on People Magazine, The New York Times, The Washington Post, “Good Morning America”, as well as a number of other publications. This has allowed him to share what genealogists do to a wide variety of people.
Schubert rose to fame last year after cracking a 57-year-old murder cold case, whose victim was 9-year-old Marise Chiverella. Schubert worked with the Pa. State Police, and he stated that his work involves interacting a lot with and aiding law enforcement. The process involved inputting suspected DNA into public genealogy databases, creating family trees, and going through a process of elimination to determine the best match.
Genealogists usually follow a similar process as the one followed by Schubert. Professionals in the field work to trace an individual’s heritage using family trees, census records, and DNA databases that are publicly accessible. This allows the genealogist to put pieces of a puzzle together.
Schubert discussed issues that people may bring up in terms of privacy concerns. He said that he understands why people may have those concerns, but he also believes that if people knew how it actually worked then those concerns would not necessarily exist.
“It does not matter if you are against submitting your DNA,” Schubert said. “Because a close family member would have likely submitted their own DNA online, which would help us basically solve the case without the need for a specific person’s DNA. Also, people usually agree to the usage of their DNA when they submit it online. You are asked multiple times to agree to sharing your DNA to the public database.”
Schubert talked about some of the challenges he faces in his line of work. Since genealogy is a developing field, many people may question the process and the results’ validity. He believes that the field will play a bigger role in the future as the methodology and technology develops.
“At the end of the day, it is a team effort,” said Schubert. “You have to thank the detectives, law enforcement, and everyone involved in the process or investigation.”
