NC NC- Alma Jones, 77, raped & murdered, Raleigh, 1977, *DNA Othram solved*

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1977 rape and murder of elderly Raleigh woman solved using DNA, police announce | CBS 17
Sep 22, 2021 rbbm.
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — More than 40 years later, Raleigh police have solved the rape and murder of a 77-year-old woman, police announced in a press release Wednesday.


Alma Jones (Raleigh Police Department)
''According to police, Alma Jones was raped and killed in 1977. In 2011, 34 years after the crime was committed, the “case was revived when the box it was stored in had been discovered during a transfer of older case boxes.”

"After reviving the case, homicide detectives once again investigated the crime, and a DNA profile for the suspect was developed, police said. Based on the DNA profile developed by Othram, Inc., the suspect responsible for the rape and murder of Jones was Paul Crowder, detectives determined.

Crowder died in 2015. Police obtained a saliva sample from one of Crowder’s family members and that confirmed he was the person who raped and killed Jones, officials said.

After consulting with the Wake County District Attorney’s Office, it was determined that the case has been “exceptionally cleared,” according to the release.''

 

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After 44 years, Alma Jones' killer is identified
September 22, 2021
''Summary
In December 1977, Alma Jones was found murdered in her home in Raleigh, North Carolina. She lived alone and evidence at the scene indicated she had been brutally raped and murdered. Despite a thorough investigation, the case remained unsolved. In 2011, Raleigh Police investigators submitted several items of evidence to the NC State Crime Lab. A male DNA profile was developed from a cigarette butt and semen stain on a blanket which were at the crime scene. The profile for the unknown male was entered in to CODIS but a search produces no matches or leads to the identity of this unknown male.

In 2021, with all other leads exhausted, Raleigh Police investigators secured SAKI funds and approval to use forensic genetic genealogy to generate new leads in the case. The remaining DNA extracts from the crime scene evidence were sent to Othram for testing. Othram used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing to produce a comprehensive genealogical profile for the unknown male DNA. This profile was then returned to Raleigh Police investigators, who worked with the Charlotte and Baltimore FBI offices to perform genealogical research. Genealogical research and subsequent investigation by Raleigh PD and FBI investigators identified the Alma Jones' killer as Paul David Crowder Jr. The suspect to this crime died on August 18, 2015.

About Othram Inc.
Othram is the world’s first private DNA laboratory built specifically to apply the power of modern parallel sequencing to forensic evidence. Othram’s scientists are experts at recovery, enrichment, and analysis of human DNA from trace quantities of degraded or contaminated materials.''

 

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Sept 23 2021 rbbm.
Noting the perp was the grandchild of the victim's neighbour, keeping that in mind for other sex assaults on the elderly, imo.
‘Don’t think you’ve gotten away’ – Raleigh detective who helped solve 40-year-old cold case delivers warning | CBS 17
“I was about 20 years old. It was rough. It’s a vision that sticks with you when you walk in the door and see your grandmother stretched out and unclothed,” said the victim’s grandson Kenneth Evans.

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On Thursday, the family embraced for a different reason as they now know the person responsible for their pain.

Jones’ case initially went cold in the 70s until 2011 when Detective Jerry Faulk stumbled across the case file, teaming up with Othram DNA Lab based in Texas. Crime scene evidence and a saliva swab from the suspect’s family member helped identify the killer.

“We work with DNA evidence from these crime scenes that are very old that have very challenging DNA, so this would be DNA evidence that would probably not even be accepted at other labs. This is an amazingly powerful technique and when you’ve exhausted all other opportunities and leads this is what you need to do,” said Othram CEO David Mittelman.''

''Jones’ killer was identified Thursday as Paul Crowder. He died in 2015 following a prison stint for unrelated crimes. Crowder was the grandson of Jones’ neighbor at the time and known around the neighborhood''.