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2w ago

1972 Homicide Victim Named Carl Bryant as Probe Turns to Suspects and Missing Brother

Genome sequencing on minimal hair fragments, coupled with DNA from the mother’s exhumed remains, identified the 1972 victim as Carl Bryant; police are now pursuing new leads.

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Overview

  • Genetic genealogy on just a few millimeters of hair yielded a DNA profile linking the child to relatives in Philadelphia and establishing his identity.
  • Investigators exhumed Vera Bryant’s remains in July and confirmed through DNA testing that she was the boy’s mother.
  • Fairfax County police now consider Vera Bryant and her partner James Hedgepeth as prime suspects in the blunt-force homicide.
  • Detectives believe Carl’s six-month-old brother James Bryant was killed at the same time and his remains discarded along the family’s travel route.
  • Authorities have reopened the case and are urging anyone with information on either child’s death to contact the Fairfax County Police Department’s Major Crimes Bureau.