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Genealogy

Ancestry.com DNA used to find unknown father and led to a legal case at the High Court

8 replies

Another2Cats · 02/07/2026 07:00

Very much as the title, I'm not too sure if Genealogy is entirely the right board though? The judgment in the case was handed down last Friday

The Ancestry DNA wasn't used in court to prove he was the father, but rather to identify who the father might be so that he could be required to provide a DNA sample.

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So, briefly, the British Army has a training base in Kenya. A number of local women have claimed that British servicemen were the fathers of their children.

A genetics professor from Kings College London and a team from the BBC went to Kenya and took saliva samples from 23 children. One of the samples from each child was then sent to Ancestry and the other was retained by the genetics professor for testing if a potential father was found.

They then started looking through Ancestry and, in this case, found relatives of the possible father on Ancestry. From this they were able to identify who the father likely was.

The father turned out to have been in the army and in Kenya at the correct time. He was also of Kenyan heritage and had extended family in Kenya who he visited regularly.

He agreed to do a court ordered DNA test at Kings College London and this showed that he was indeed the father.

He claimed that he had never met the mother (until the court was shown a photo of them together) and then tried to dispute the DNA evidence.

But, in the end, the court ruled that he was the father.

Re YZ (Declaration of Parentage: BATUK: DNA Evidence) [2026] EWHC 1601 (Fam)

https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Fam/2026/1601.html

Apparently, the other cases are still ongoing.

YZ, Re (Declaration of Parentage: BATUK: DNA Evidence) [2026] EWHC 1601 (Fam) (26 June 2026)

https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Fam/2026/1601.html

OP posts:
RoseField1 · 02/07/2026 07:02

Good?

TinyBlueDent · 02/07/2026 07:08

BBC had an article about it in April, linked to a BBC World Service programme.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c895k3537kgo

Theunamedcat · 02/07/2026 07:13

If you have something to hide dont put your DNA into ancestry its literally for finding your family

CornishCornetto · 02/07/2026 07:19

Theunamedcat · 02/07/2026 07:13

If you have something to hide dont put your DNA into ancestry its literally for finding your family

It usually isn’t the person with something to hide who puts their data on ancestry, it’s their relatives cheerfully trying to build up their family tree and not realising that they are opening up lots of issues.

There have been other cases where criminals have been convicted after their close matches were on ancestry/similar sites, and that led the police to them.

ExplodingSmittens · 02/07/2026 07:28

That’s bloody shocking but I’m not surprised at the lengths some men will go to to avoid responsibility for their own DC.

Will have a listen to the series on BBC Sounds.

LifeBeginsToday · 02/07/2026 07:47

It is the literal plot of Madame Butterfly / Miss Saigon, only this time British soldiers not American.

MeetMeOnTheCorner · 02/07/2026 07:53

@LifeBeginsToday Well one Kenyan born one so far.

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