Detective Brandon Snyder from MPD’s child abuse and sex crimes unit expressed, “She suffered severe injuries, including multiple facial bone fractures. She was dragged between two houses and abandoned there. No one should ever endure such a fate,” Detective Snyder emphasized. “She did nothing to provoke this attack.”
Despite gathering DNA evidence of the victim’s assailant, Mesquite police found no matches in state databases. Leads were exhausted, and the case turned cold.
The breakthrough came two years ago when Detective Brandon Snyder attended an FBI training seminar where he learned about investigative genetic genealogy.
According to the Center for Forensic Science Research & Education:
Investigative genetic genealogy (IGG) involves using public direct-to-consumer DNA databases and genealogy techniques traditionally employed to help adoptees locate their biological families. IGG identifies familial relationships based on shared DNA, potentially leading to identifications of unknown individuals in cases involving unidentified human remains (UHR) or unsolved violent crimes.
“The concept behind IGG is to identify familial connections to the suspect,” Snyder explained.
During the seminar, Snyder proposed reopening the 2014 case for IGG analysis to the FBI agent leading the forum, who agreed it was worth pursuing.
Over the next two years, Snyder collaborated with the FBI Dallas Field Office, searching public genealogy databases in hopes of finding relatives of the attacker.
Their efforts eventually yielded a partial match leading to a distant relative of the suspect in a genealogy database.
Snyder meticulously traced the family lineage, which eventually pointed to Jorge Post, 27 years old.
Post, who was 17 at the time of the assault, resided near Moon Drive, one street away, according to Snyder.
Subsequently, police and the FBI began surveillance on Post in April 2024 to obtain a DNA sample confirming the match.
During his lunch break at a Mexican restaurant, Post discarded a Coke can in the trash, which an FBI agent collected for testing, as detailed in the affidavit.
Three months later, laboratory results conclusively identified Post as the perpetrator, as stated in the affidavit.
“It’s incredibly satisfying in my career to finally bring closure to this case,” Snyder remarked.
Snyder aims to extend closure to other families by reviewing Mesquite PD’s unsolved cases and identifying candidates for genealogy testing by the FBI.
Due to the costs and time involved, not all cases can be considered.
“I’m focusing primarily on unsolved violent crimes, particularly homicides and sexual assaults where DNA evidence is available and justice is overdue,” Snyder affirmed.
Jorge Post remains in custody on a $5 million bond, charged with aggravated sexual assault of a disabled person, with no prior criminal record known.
