How do I review a DNA Match?

To review a DNA Match, users can access an in-depth page presenting detailed information. This page includes contact options for the match, an estimated relationship, and sections such as Smart Matches, shared ancestral surnames, and shared DNA Matches, which indicate genetic relatives common to both individuals. Pedigree charts display up to five generations of direct ancestors, and the Chromosome Browser visually represents shared DNA segments, helping to identify common ancestors.

How do I use the Chromosome Browser — One-to-many?

The Chromosome Browser — One-to-many enables the comparison of DNA segments between a user (or individuals whose DNA kits are managed by the user) and up to seven DNA Matches. By analyzing these shared segments, including triangulated segments, users can infer relationships and identify common ancestors. This tool is accessed through the DNA Tools section of MyHeritage and allows for detailed visual comparison of genetic overlap across chromosomes.

What are the privacy options for my DNA data?

Users control their DNA privacy settings through the DNA Preferences section of their family site. These settings include enabling or disabling DNA matching, allowing others to view ethnicity estimates, and granting permission for DNA matches to view and download shared DNA segment data. Additionally, users can choose whether to display DNA badges in family trees and can opt into or out of the DNA Informed Consent Agreement, which allows MyHeritage to use anonymized DNA data for research. These options empower users to manage how their genetic information is shared and utilized on the platform.

What are Genetic Groups?

Genetic Groups are a detailed ethnicity breakdown for MyHeritage DNA test takers, identifying over 2,100 geographic regions. They provide insights into ancestors' geographic locations and migration patterns, often pinpointing origins to specific counties or cities. These groups differ from Ethnicity Estimates by focusing on shared geographic origins, even if members have varied ethnicities. Eligibility for a Genetic Group is determined by shared DNA segments.

How do I access and use Genetic Groups on MyHeritage?

Genetic Groups on MyHeritage are accessed through the "Ethnicity Estimate" section within the DNA tab. These groups are displayed as part of the ethnicity results, nested under relevant ethnicities in a new interface. A confidence slider helps adjust the visibility of these groups based on low, medium, or high probability. Genetic Groups are tied to populations and are nested under the ethnicity that best fits the DNA results, or under "Additional Genetic Groups" if a clear ethnicity link isn't established.

Justice After 50 Years: How DNA Finally Named the 'Lady of the Dunes' Killer

For nearly half a century, she was known only as the "Lady of the Dunes," the victim of a brutal murder whose identity remained one of America's most haunting cold cases. Discovered in the remote dunes of Provincetown, Massachusetts, in the summer of 1974, her case stumped investigators for decades. But in 2022, a breakthrough finally came, not from a dusty file or a deathbed confession, but from the powerful intersection of DNA science and family history research. Through the groundbreaking technique of forensic genetic genealogy, the "Lady of the Dunes" was finally given her name back: Ruth Marie Terry.

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This is the story of how the same tools that help people uncover their heritage brought justice and resolution to a long-unanswered crime. It is a journey that weaves together advanced science, traditional detective work, and the intricate, sprawling threads of a family tree, demonstrating how the past is never truly lost.

Key Takeaways

The "Lady of the Dunes" was the oldest unidentified homicide victim in Massachusetts. Her body was discovered in 1974 and she was finally identified in 2022 as Ruth Marie Terry.
In August 2023, her killer was identified as her husband, Guy Muldavin, who had died in 2002.
The case was solved using forensic genetic genealogy (FGG), which uses DNA from a crime scene to find distant relatives in opt-in public databases and build family trees to determine an identity.
Consumer genealogy platforms that people use for family history research have strict privacy policies that prohibit law enforcement from using their databases for investigations.

A Ghost in the Dunes: The Decades of Dead Ends

Lying on a beach blanket in the Race Point Dunes was the body of a woman. The scene was designed to conceal her identity; her hands had been severed, so she could not be identified through fingerprints, and her head was nearly decapitated from a crushing blow that served as the cause of death. Authorities at the time believed she had been killed several weeks before her body was found.

For nearly five decades, her identity remained a complete mystery. She became one of New England’s most famous ghosts, a woman without a name who haunted the conscience of law enforcement. They exhumed her body multiple times, hoping new forensic techniques could yield a clue. They commissioned clay busts and updated artist renderings of her face, which were broadcast across the country, yet no one came forward to claim her.

Her details were compared to countless missing person reports, but nothing ever matched. She was known simply by her grim moniker, the "Lady of the Dunes," her story frozen in time, waiting for a technology that had not yet been invented.

The Dawn of a New Era: What is Forensic Genetic Genealogy?

The technology that finally broke the case is known as forensic genetic genealogy, or FGG. While it has become famous for cracking cold cases with inherited clues, its methodology is rooted in the same principles used in family history discovery.

How it Works: From DNA Sample to a Name

Forensic genetic genealogy begins with a DNA sample from an unidentified person or a crime scene. Scientists generate a comprehensive DNA profile from this evidence. This profile is then uploaded to one or more public, opt-in DNA databases where users have voluntarily shared their genetic information, often to find relatives or explore their heritage.

Investigators are not looking for a direct match, but for distant relatives, such as third or fourth cousins. Once a few distant cousin matches are identified, the real genealogical work begins. Highly skilled genealogists take over, painstakingly building out the family trees of these DNA matches. From there, they build the family tree forward through time, tracing all the descendants until they can pinpoint the identity of the unknown individual. It’s a process that proves a 4th cousin match is not a dead end but a powerful clue.

A simplified graphic showing how distant DNA matches can lead to a common ancestor through a family tree.

The Golden State Killer Precedent

Investigators used the technique to identify Joseph James DeAngelo, a former police officer responsible for a string of murders and rapes across California in the 1970s and 80s. That landmark case demonstrated FGG’s incredible potential and opened the floodgates for law enforcement agencies to revisit their most stubborn cold cases, including the mystery of the Lady of the Dunes.

A Crucial Distinction: Privacy and Consumer DNA Testing

It is essential to understand the distinction between the public databases used for FGG and private consumer platforms designed for personal family history. Forensic investigations utilize open-source databases where users have explicitly consented to their data being used for this purpose. Major consumer platforms like MyHeritage, on the other hand, have strict terms of service that explicitly prohibit law enforcement from uploading crime scene DNA or using the database for forensic investigations. Your DNA data is protected and is used for the purpose you intended: connecting with relatives and discovering your family story. Building your family tree or taking a DNA test for personal discovery is a private and secure experience.

Giving Her a Name: How Ruth Marie Terry Was Found

In October 2022, after 48 years of silence, the FBI announced a monumental breakthrough: the Lady of the Dunes finally had a name. Using forensic genetic genealogy, investigators had definitively identified her as Ruth Marie Terry, a 37-year-old woman originally from Tennessee. The news was a testament to the persistence of investigators and the power of this new technology.

The process followed the classic FGG playbook. A DNA profile was extracted from evidence that had been carefully preserved for decades. After uploading it, investigators found a key distant cousin match. From there, genealogists began the meticulous work of building family trees, eventually zeroing in on a branch that led them to Ruth Marie Terry. She was a daughter, a sister, and a wife who had left her family in Tennessee and was last heard from months before her death.

The Final Piece of the Puzzle: Identifying the Killer

Identifying the victim is often the single most important step in solving a murder, and this case was no exception. Once investigators knew the victim was Ruth Marie Terry, they could finally construct a timeline of her last months and investigate the people in her life. This quickly led them to the man she had married shortly before her death: Guy Muldavin.

Unmasking a Villain

In August 2023, authorities announced they had identified Guy Muldavin as the killer. Muldavin was an antiques dealer with a dark past. Investigators learned that after Ruth’s death, he returned from a trip to the East Coast driving her car and told family members she had passed away. The identification of Muldavin serves as a stark reminder that sometimes your ancestor might not be a hero.

However, the official identification brings a definitive, if posthumous, conclusion to the case. For the family of Ruth Marie Terry, it provided long-awaited answers about her fate and finally delivered a measure of justice.

The Broader Impact: Genealogy and Modern Justice

The resolution of the Lady of the Dunes case is a powerful example of how genealogy—a practice dedicated to uncovering the past—is shaping the future of justice. It sits at a complex intersection of science, history, and ethics, raising important questions and offering profound possibilities. The ethical considerations are significant, leading to an ongoing public conversation about how your DNA could solve a murder, but should it?.

This case underscores the incredible value of both DNA and the traditional genealogical records that give it context. It was the combination of these two elements that allowed investigators to bridge a 50-year gap in knowledge. For every family historian, it serves as a powerful reminder that every record we find and every ancestor we add to our tree helps build a more complete picture of the past, preserving stories that might otherwise be lost forever.

For nearly fifty years, a woman lay in an unmarked grave, her story untold and her name unknown. Today, thanks to the tireless work of investigators and the remarkable power of genetic genealogy, we know her name. Ruth Marie Terry. Her story is no longer a ghost story whispered in the dunes but a human story of a life that was tragically cut short, finally given a conclusion.