lori bruski
Operation UNITED: Collaborative Strategies for Resolving Cold Case Homicides through Mass Exhumation
Lori Bruski, MS joined the NamUs team in 2011 and began aiding vested communities with missing and unidentified person cases.
Ms. Bruski oversees database quality and operating procedures, collaborates with system developers to enhance database functionality and provide data extraction and visualization for research and metric reporting. She is also responsible for implementing training programs, ensuring procedural accuracy and program compliance, and assisting with DNA forensic services. Additionally, she assists with special projects, including Operation UNITED and the New York State Cold Case Review Panel.
Before joining NamUs, Ms. Bruski was employed with the Michigan State Police and was trained in firearms, crime scene response, bloodstain pattern interpretation, serological examinations, and DNA analysis. She is a member of the Midwestern Association of Forensic Scientists (MAFS) and currently sits on the MAFS Communication Committee.
Ms. Bruski is also a member of several other professional organizations, including the International Association of Bloodstain Pattern Analysts, the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, and the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
PRESENTATION
OPERATION UNITED:COLLABORATIVE STRATEGIES FOR RESOLVING STRATEGIES FOR RESOLVING COLD CASE HOMICIDES THROUGH MASS EXHUMATION
In the Detroit, Michigan area over 300 unidentified human remains were recovered between1959 and 2013; three-quarters of these were known/potential homicides. Operation UNITED, a five-year mass recovery effort focusing on exhumation and advanced genetic technologies, was initiated through a strategic collaboration between NamUs, Detroit PD, and the FBI. This initiative allowed for NamUs entry and biometric collections, leading to 80 rapid identifications. This presentation will highlight the logistics, successes of various identification techniques, and lessons learned from Operation UNITED that may be instrumental in jumpstarting cold case homicide investigations, achieving justice, and providing closure for affected families.