October 9, 2026: Cumberland County District Attorney Seán M. McCormack was invited to participate this past week in the National Convening on Rapid DNA in Raleigh, North Carolina. The National Criminal Justice Association Center for Forensic DNA Policy & Practice invited multidisciplinary teams – representing prosecution, forensic laboratories, and law enforcement – from 15 states to examine strategies for maximizing the public safety benefits of Rapid DNA technology. District Attorney McCormack was one of Pennsylvania’s three representatives at the convening.  

Rapid DNA is a term used to describe a fully automated process of developing a DNA profile within 90 minutes to 2 hours without needing a traditional DNA laboratory or human intervention. McCormack explained, “Rapid DNA is more than the scientific instrument itself that is used to develop a DNA profile – instead Rapid DNA is best described as a program designed to provide fast and reliable DNA results to assist in the prompt apprehension of individuals who commit crimes, the expedited exoneration of innocent suspects, and to help identify victims of disasters such plane crashes, catastrophic fires, and other mass casualty incidents.” 

The convening was designed as a collaborative working session for participants to share lessons learned, discuss challenges and opportunities, and identify practical solutions related to CODIS (Combined DNA Index System) integration, booking station deployment, forensic applications, disaster victim identification (DVI), and regional DNA databases. Over the course of the two-day convening the participants from each of the states shared information as to their state’s implementation, use, and successes of Rapid DNA programs. 

“Cumberland County early on embraced Rapid DNA technology. In 2017, the same year the Rapid DNA Act of 2017 became federal law, the District Attorney’s Forensic Investigation Division utilized Rapid DNA to develop a suspect in a homicide case. Since then, we have utilized our Rapid DNA program to assist in developing DNA leads from crime scenes, identified the remains of victims who died in house fires and just a week ago identify the skeletal remains of Kim Gsell who had been missing for 7 years.”  McCormack continued, “On September 1, 2026, our Forensic Investigation Division was recognized by the Philadelphia Police Department’s Office of Forensic Science for answering their call for assistance with the tragic January 2025 crash of a Mexican medical jet – Med Jets Flight 056 – onto a Northeast Philadelphia neighborhood. Given the scope of the disaster, Philadelphia needed the assistance of other agencies with Rapid DNA programs to help identify the victims of this plane crash. Two of our forensic evidence team personnel responded with two Rapid DNA instruments to help provide what is known as disaster victim identifications (DVI).” The Philadelphia Office of Forensic Science also individually recognized Forensic Division Deputy Director Carol McCandless and Forensic Technician Brinlee Morris for all their work in helping to identify the victims of Med Jets Flight 056. 

District Attorney McCormack expressed how honored he was to be invited to participate in the National Convening on Rapid DNA, “My invitation to join this national meeting is really a reflection of the excellent work produced by our Forensic Investigations Division. I am very proud of our lab, and the foresight Director Eric Radnovich has shown in pursuing forensic investigative tools like Rapid DNA which enhances the safety of all of Cumberland County’s citizens.”