Woman horrified after her DNA test matches to 1986 murder and exposes dark family secret

Home DNA testing kits can reveal all sorts of interesting information. Maybe you're a quarter Irish, part Polish, or even related to a murder victim.

Who knew your spit could tell so many stories?

You're admittedly a lot less likely to find out about a dark family secret than just your heritage through the test, but that's still what happened after Jackie Vadurro, from California, use a 23andMe kit.

Vadurro sent the kit off to await her results, but at the end of January she received a call which displayed 'No Caller ID'.

While that alone would have been enough to send some people into a panic, Vadurro made the bold choice to answer and learned the caller was a cold case homicide detective from San Diego.

The detective explained that Vadurro's 23andMe DNA test kit had been linked to the 36-year-old cold case murder of a Jane Doe who had been fatally shot and thrown off onto the side of a rural road in San Diego.

It's a lot to take in, so much so that Vadurro initially thought the caller was joking.

The victim is thought to be a cousin of Jackie's. Credit:@hittheroadjackie/TikTok

Recalling her experience to the New York Post, Vadurro said: “I was so taken aback. I knew I hadn’t done anything wrong, but when the police call you about a murder, you’re like, ‘Oh my goodness, what am I involved in?'"

Vadurro said she felt like she was living in her 'own Dateline episode' as she shared her bizarre tale on TikTok, where she explained: “No one ever reported [the victim] missing."

"[The detectives] do not know who she is, and now they think that I might be her family member because of my DNA that I uploaded on 23andMe,” she said.

Vadurro cooperated with the police, who were able to confirm she was a DNA match for the victim.

“Within, like, 30 minutes [detectives] had called me back and were like, ‘Jackie, thank you so much. This is the biggest break we’ve gotten in this case in a whole year'."

nevodka / Alamy Stock Photo

Police were able to determine Vadurro was either a second or third cousin of the victim, but the TikToker explained her family 'still have no idea who [the victim] is or where she came from'.

Police believe the murder victim was the love child of Vadurro's mother’s great grandfather.

“They think she was an illegitimate child, which is why no one’s reported her or anything," Vadurro explained.

Police have managed to link Jane Doe to another cousin in New York, who has vowed to buy a headstone and give her a proper burial once her identity is officially determined.

"Me and this Jane Doe share DNA, she’s part of me,” Vadurro said. “I’m glad that I’m able to bring her story to light, and hopefully [help] catch the horrible person who killed her.”