Familial DNA leads to conviction in Arizona woman's 2015 murder

An Arizona man was convicted in April 2026 for the 2015 murder of Scottsdale resident Allison Feldman, a case solved using familial DNA for the first time in state history. Ian Mitcham was found guilty of first-degree murder, sexual assault, and burglary. The DNA evidence from the crime scene matched Mitcham after investigators linked it to his brother, Mark Mitcham, whose profile was in the system. Mitcham was arrested in 2018 and denied involvement, with his defense pointing to a neighbor previously cleared by DNA testing. The jury deadlocked on the death penalty, and Mitcham received 10.5 years for the sexual assault and burglary charges, with a retrial planned for sentencing. Feldman's father, Harley, who pushed for the familial DNA technique, died shortly after the verdict.