A man who authorities say sexually assaulted and killed a 20-year-old woman three decades ago has been identified. The Wichita Police Department has named Paul Hart, who died in a traffic collision in 1999, as a suspect in the 1989 death of Krista Martin, according to a statement released by the Wichita Police Department on Monday.
The statement reads, "On October 2, 1989, tragedy struck when Krista Martin was discovered deceased in a residence in the 500 block of South Osage."
Although DNA evidence was collected at the time of the incident, testing was not available. However, it was carefully preserved. Despite conducting numerous interviews, investigators were unable to identify a suspect at the time. They continued to gather leads and collect DNA from multiple individuals for comparison with the evidence from the scene, yet no match was found, according to police.
Efforts to identify a suspect through the DNA evidence with the FBI's assistance in the early '90s yielded no results. The case remained unsolved. In 2009, another attempt to identify a suspect through the DNA evidence was unsuccessful. However, in 2020, leveraging advanced technology, the Wichita Police Department sought the FBI's assistance again to re-evaluate the DNA evidence collected in 1989.
After a multi-year investigation by homicide detectives, federal authorities, and private industry genealogists, a possible suspect, Paul Hart, emerged in April 2023. It was discovered that Hart had died in a traffic collision in Memphis, Tennessee, in March of 1999. Law enforcement collected DNA samples from Hart's direct relatives and confirmed through additional testing that Hart was the suspect in the 1989 homicide of Martin.
Detective Adam VanDerMolen explained that while Martin's DNA was recovered from a sexual assault kit collected at the time, the cause of her death was determined to be blunt force trauma to the side of her head. A murder weapon was never found.
Regarding the connection between Hart and Martin, VanDerMolen stated that they lived about six houses from each other at the time of the murder. However, despite extensive investigations, no definitive connection has been established.
VanDerMolen shared that Martin was outgoing and often frequented local drinking establishments, where she befriended people she encountered. It was not unusual for her to get rides home from people she had recently met and invite them to her apartment. There was no sign of forced entry at her home on the night of her death.
When Wichita police presented the case's facts to Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett, it was determined that charges would have been filed against Mr. Hart if he were still alive. However, as he is deceased, the case is now considered closed, according to the Wichita Police Department statement.
In a press conference, Krista Moore's niece, Ember Moore, expressed gratitude to investigators and volunteers for their dedication in solving the case. She said, "I am glad we can finally move forward and have peace knowing that Krista's murderer is not walking around free or amongst us."
I another development, An 18-month-old toddler tragically lost his life due to severe abuse, allegedly inflicted by his mother and her former partner in Devon. See detailed story here
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