Woman who gave fake name before dying in 1999 identified, Arizona officials say
A woman who gave a false name to hospital staff before falling into a coma and dying more than two decades ago has been identified, Arizona officials say.
Using forensic investigative genetic genealogy, researchers identified the woman as Charlotte Mae Petreikis, a Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner spokesperson told McClatchy News on Dec. 12.
In 1999, a woman “collapsed at a bus station in Tucson,” Intermountain Forensics, the nonprofit that helped identify the woman, said in a Dec. 11 news release.
First responders took her to a hospital, where she told staff her name was “Dorothy Peterson,” the nonprofit said.
Then, she fell into a coma in critical condition, according to the nonprofit.
The woman stayed at the hospital until she succumbed to her injuries three weeks later, the nonprofit said.
Officials were not able to identify her, however, as she had “multiple names and conflicting forms of identification,” the nonprofit said.
Finding the woman’s true identity was “difficult,” the nonprofit said.
For decades, her identity was a mystery.
Then, in 2023, investigators set their sights on investigative genetic genealogy to finally identify the woman.
Genetic genealogy uses DNA testing coupled with “traditional genealogical methods” to create “family history profiles,” according to the Library of Congress. With genealogical DNA testing, researchers can determine if and how people are biologically related.
Intermountain Forensics said its genealogists created a genetic profile for the woman.
Through genetic genealogy research, investigators identified the woman as Petreikis, who once lived in Chicago, Illinois, the nonprofit said.
This story was originally published December 12, 2024 at 4:35 PM with the headline "Woman who gave fake name before dying in 1999 identified, Arizona officials say."
