Aiexpress – Indiana State Police have successfully solved a 29-year-old attempted murder case in Scott County.
In August 2023, a press release revealed that detectives made substantial breakthroughs in their investigation using DNA technology. The incident, which took place in rural Scott County in May 1995, saw significant progress thanks to this innovative approach.
During the commission of the crime, DNA evidence was collected by the ISP and the Scott County Sheriff’s Office at the location of an attempted murder, assault, and robbery that occurred at a residence. At that time, the state police diligently pursued various leads but were unable to identify any definitive suspects.
In August 2000, the investigators inputted the DNA they had gathered into a national database. However, they were unable to find any matches to known individuals.
The use of familial DNA technology in cold cases gained popularity in 2018, as reported by ISP. In August of last year, the investigators of the Scott County cold case utilized this technique. It involves comparing a collected DNA sample against a database of known individuals to identify family members of potential suspects.
Parabon Laboratories, with the support of Seasons of Justice, a nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting law enforcement in solving unsolved violent crimes, successfully conducted familial DNA testing for Scott County cold case investigators.
During the testing process, a family member of the suspect was successfully identified. The Illinois State Police (ISP) reported that, several months later, a team of detectives, lab analysts, intelligence analysts, and genealogists managed to uncover the identity of the suspect.
Investigators from the ISP have determined that the suspect was in their early 30s at the time of the crime. Following a series of interviews, detectives have concluded that the suspect resided in close proximity to the location of the incident.
After establishing a connection between the suspect and the victim, investigators discovered that the suspect had relocated from Indiana following the commission of the crime.
According to ISP, the suspect passed away in 2003.
The policy of ISP is to refrain from disclosing the name of suspects until formal charges are filed. In this particular case, the suspect is deceased and no charges will be pursued, therefore ISP has chosen not to disclose the identity of the individual.
