Successful extraction of human genomic DNA from serum and its application to forensic identification

We report here on the successful extraction of human genomic DNA from a serum sample in a forensic case. The extracted DNA was successfully used for the identification of remains presumably immersed for more than three weeks for which the only comparison sample was a 250-microL serum aliquot kept frozen in a laboratory. The analysis made it possible to identify a second victim as the daughter of the first.