MI - Sonya Dockery, 33, murdered, DNA under fingernails leads to arrest in 2022, Detroit, Dec 1997

[JoeFromLB]

DNA under fingernails in 1997 murder leads to new arrest for cold case

DETROIT (FOX 2) - A 1997 cold case involving the murder of Sonya Dockery could be one step closer to being solved.
There are new developments in a Detroit cold case from 1997 when a woman was found strangled to death on the city's west side. Now, 25-years later, there has been an arrest in the case.

On Friday the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Officer announced that 51-year old Johnny Yenshaw of Detroit was charged in connection with Dockery’s homicide. She was just 33-years old.

 

[JoeFromLB]

from Detroit Police:
Dockery was a beloved daughter, sister, and mother. Yenshaw was arraigned today and remanded to jail. This case was advanced after the Cold Case team re-submitted evidence for further DNA analysis. That additional analysis was successful and provided a lead for the defendant.

 

[dotr]

Sonya Dockery, left, Johnny Yenshaw
April 1 2022
Family of 1997 cold case murder victim relieved for new arrest from DNA hit (fox2detroit.com)
''Sonya Dockery was just 33 years old when her body was found in the area of Sussex Street near James Couzens Service Drive in Detroit.
Her son created a production company called 7133 in her honor - using the number 71 for his grandmother who died at that age - and 33 for his mom.

"You spend 25 years wishing you could have a mother to say Happy Mother's Day, or happy birthday to you, or just so many Christmases, so many things I never got to share with my mother," he said.

The murder happened back in December of 1997. Police say strangulation marks were found on Sonya's neck.

"It's been very hard and very difficult on the family," said Lachelle Dockery, Sonya's sister.

But there was never an arrest until now, more than 2 decades after the crime - but her family says Sonya was never forgotten in their minds. They pushed police to take a second look.

"I reached out and said can you reopen this case? And they did that, and here we are today," Lachelle said. "I just want to thank everybody."

"The level of DNA under the fingernails is really significant," said Carin Goldfarb, Wayne County Prosecutor's Office in court today.''