– Long-tailed keyword 1: Pregnant woman found dead in basement
– Long-tailed keyword 2: Woman identified through father’s DNA in cold case.
Accident – Death – Obituary News : 
CNN
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Authorities have identified the body of a pregnant woman found in a flooded basement in Indiana 32 years ago through forensic genetic genealogy and DNA provided by her father, according to officials.
The woman has been identified as Tabetha Ann Murlin, who was discovered deceased by a construction worker in a Fort Wayne home in 1992, as confirmed by Christopher A. Meihls, the chief investigator for the Allen County Coroner’s Office.
The construction worker, while doing renovations in a house on Reynolds Street, found the body wrapped in a blanket and submerged in 8 to 12 inches of water. The state of decomposition was so severe that investigators initially believed Murlin had died in 1991 or early 1992, according to Allen County Coroner John Brandenberger.
Initial attempts to determine the cause of death were unsuccessful due to the advanced decomposition of the 23-year-old woman’s body, as mentioned by Brandenberger during a news conference held on Thursday.
Following a partial autopsy conducted by the Allen County coroner, Murlin, who was known as ‘Mary Jane Doe’ at the time, was buried at Lindenwood Cemetery on May 21, 1992, as stated by Brandenberger.
The case remained unsolved for over two decades until advancements in forensic analysis prompted the Fort Wayne Police Department to reopen the investigation in 2016, according to the coroner.
In 2017, Murlin’s body was exhumed to conduct a more comprehensive autopsy, including the use of forensic odontology and anthropological study. DNA samples extracted from her left femur were sent to the University of North Texas’ Center for Human Identification for testing, as explained by Brandenberger.
After seven months, the University of Texas announced the development of a DNA profile from the samples. Despite uploading the profile to DNA databases, no matches were found at the time, according to Brandenberger.
The degraded DNA samples were preserved until newer technology became available, and in 2023, forensic genealogy companies Intermountain Forensics and Ignite DNA were able to sequence the DNA. Through this process, a match was found between Murlin and her father, as well as her late mother and two aunts, shared Brandenberger.
The confirmation of the identity was further supported by DNA obtained from a cheek swab of Robert Bowers, who was confirmed to be Murlin’s father based on case documents.
Murlin’s aunt, Angelina Privitt, identified the victim as Tabetha Slain, and stated that she had been adopted by another aunt, Norma Slain, according to the coroner’s office.
According to case documents, Privitt revealed that Murlin had married Jerry Murlin in 1987, but the couple separated in 1988. Surprisingly, Jerry Murlin never filed for divorce or reported his wife as missing, authorities have stated.
While the details surrounding the cause of Murlin’s death remain unclear, both Bowers and Jerry Murlin confirmed that they last saw her in 1988 and 1989, respectively.
CNN has reached out to Murlin, Bowers, and the Fort Wayne Police Department for comment on the case.
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1. “Pregnant woman found dead in basement identified through DNA”
2. “32-year-old cold case solved: Identifying pregnant woman’s killer through DNA”.
