After 27 years of uncertainty, Allegheny County investigators say skeletal remains found in a Wilkinsburg basement in 1999 have been identified as 18-year-old Genelle Bradford. The breakthrough gives Bradford's relatives long-awaited answers and effectively restarts a homicide investigation that had been cold for decades.
The remains were discovered on June 28, 1999, in the basement well of a North Avenue home that had been empty and abandoned for more than a year. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner ruled the death a homicide by ligature strangulation, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
How DNA Unlocked a Name
To put a name to the remains, investigators turned to private forensic lab Othram, which used modern DNA technology to build a new profile from the decades-old evidence. That work generated potential family leads and ultimately led to Bradford's identification. As reported by WTAE, Allegheny County partnered with the company in 2024 after securing grant funding to retest evidence from cold cases.
A Missing Teenager, Decades of Questions
Bradford was reported missing in April 1999 and was last seen on April 24, 1999, when she left for school, according to The Charley Project. Her family spent years searching for answers while authorities kept the case open but unsolved.
Investigation Remains Open
Allegheny County police say no suspect has been identified and the homicide investigation remains active. "We are thrilled that once again this partnership has allowed us to provide answers to a family that was left in the dark for so long," Mandy Tinkey, lab director for the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office, said in a statement to WTAE.
