Cold Hit
Definition
A database match between a crime-scene DNA profile and an offender or arrestee profile where no other investigative lead identified the suspect. Cold hits produce an investigative lead, not a conviction: the match must be independently verified and the profile must be admissible.
- Type
- Database match, DNA profile
- Preceding lead
- None; suspect identified only via the database
- Legal status
- Investigative lead, not standalone proof
- Requirement
- Independent verification and admissibility check
Common questions
How does a cold hit differ from a confirmatory DNA match in an ongoing case?+
A confirmatory match tests a known suspect already identified through other evidence, while a cold hit is how the suspect was identified in the first place, purely from the database search, so it carries a different evidential weight and typically triggers a fresh confirmatory sample and full profile comparison.
Why can't a cold hit alone secure a conviction?+
It shows only that a profile in the database matches the crime-scene sample; investigators still need to independently corroborate the person's connection to the crime, since a database match alone does not establish how or when the DNA was deposited.
Related terms
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- CODIS
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- Familial Searching
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- Proportionality
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- STR Profile
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