Over three decades after a brutal crime, DNA evidence has connected a 55-year-old Georgia man to a double murder.
On Tuesday, June 25, the DeKalb County Grand Jury indicted Kenneth Perry on charges related to the 1990 killings of Pamela Sumpter, 43, and her brother John Sumpter, 46.
According to a press release from the DeKalb County District Attorney's Office, Perry faces two counts of Malice Murder, two counts of Felony Murder, Rape, four counts of Aggravated Assault, two counts of Aggravated Battery, two counts of Possession of a Knife During the Commission of a Felony, and Theft by Taking.
The horrific attack occurred on July 15, 1990, at an apartment complex.
When officers arrived, they found John dead.
Pamela, who had been stabbed and raped, told officers that her brother had invited the attacker to the apartment.
Despite knowing very little about the assailant, she provided a detailed description, noting he was from Detroit.
Sadly, Pamela succumbed to her injuries nearly a month later, on August 5, 1990.
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| The victims |
With details in hand, and aided by a grant for prosecuting cold cases using DNA, the district attorney's office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation uploaded the DNA to a national database in February 2023.
This DNA matched a profile from a 1992 unprosecuted sexual assault case in Detroit.
The victim of that case had identified the suspect as her ex-boyfriend, Kenneth Perry.
A private genealogy lab later confirmed that genealogical matches to the DNA from Pamela's kit indicated a family network including Perry.
This led to an arrest warrant being executed in June 2023.
A new DNA sample taken from Perry definitively linked him to the DNA from the 1990 rape kit.
“It’s been over 30 years since this terrible, evil tragedy happened to my brother and sister. We now have closure,” said James Sumpter, sibling of the victims
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or visit rainn.org.
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