When Bayesian reasoning helps in directing investigations: A solved casework of a double infanticide

A casework concerning two possible infanticides was solved by a Bayesian approach involving several hypotheses (the mother confessed the crimes following the DNA test). The genetic analysis initially concerned the dead body of an infant found in a rubbish dump and the retained placenta of a woman presenting with massive genital bleeding a year later. After the results of a first genetic test on the two infants, the woman and her current companion were also typed, and the posterior probability that they were parents of both infants was >0.9999, even assuming priors more favorable to the couple.