Police used DNA to identify the boys for more than 50 years after they found his body. What happened to him is still a mystery

More than 50 years after police discovered it in Virginia, they used advanced DNA tests to identify a murdered Pennsylvania boy, but the incident that led to his death remains a mystery.

In June 1972, a young boy was found dead in Macy Creek under the Old Colchester Road Bridge in Loton, Virginia. An autopsy showed he died of blunt trauma, but he was not identified until now.

The Fairfax County Police Department revealed the boy’s name Monday – Carl Matthew Bryant. Kobe was four years old shortly before he was found dead.

Police were able to identify liners through advanced DNA testing and forensic-grade genome sequencing.

Astrea Forensics, a biotech research company that helps law enforcement solve forensic cases, developed a DNA profile suitable for genetic genealogy, with only a few millimeters of hair collected from boys.

With this DNA profile, innovative forensic research is a research genetic lineage and private investigation company that identifies possible relatives of boys.

The detective then traced the boy’s family back to Philadelphia, and with the help of local authorities, they contacted a relative who brought them to the boy’s mother, Vera Bryant. Vera died in 1980, but her body was dug out and her DNA confirmed a game.

But it is not clear what happened to Kobe and his six-month-old brother, James Bryant, who was killed at the same time. James’ body was never found.

Detectives believe that Vera and her then-boyfriend James Hedgepeth are now dead, and he is involved in Kobe’s murder. The Fairfax County Police Department said Hufflepace was previously convicted of murder and had a “violent criminal history.”

A family member said Villa had two sons, Carl and James, whom she planned to go from Philadelphia to Virginia in 1972.

Police theorized the murder of the Bailan boys between Philadelphia and Middlesex County, Virginia.