Suspect in 1981 murder of New Hampshire woman identified with help of genetic genealogy, attorney general says
A homicide case that went cold for more than 40 years was solved with the help of forensic genetic genealogy technology, New Hampshire Attorney General John M. Formella said Thursday.
Investigators analyzed hundreds of clues after Laura Kempton, 23, was found dead in her Portsmouth apartment in September 1981 by a police officer attempting to serve her with a subpoena, a statement from the attorney general said. An autopsy revealed that she died from “massive trauma” to the side of her head.
But it wasn’t until 2022 that investigators analyzed DNA samples taken from Kempton’s body using genetic genealogy, a technique that compares unidentified DNA, such as from the crime scene, with DNA in genealogy databases to narrow down suspects or identify their relatives.
1981 Murder case of Laura Kempton in New Hampshire Solved
That test, plus further investigation and DNA testing in 2023, helped investigators conclude that Ronney James Lee was responsible for Kempton’s death, according to the release.
Lee died in 2005 at age 45 due to acute cocaine intoxication. He was 21 when Kempton was killed, the attorney general said.
If Lee were still alive, authorities would have filed first-degree murder charges against him, Formella said.
DNA samples that helped link Lee to the case were found on Kempton’s body, a pillowcase and a cigarette butt at the scene, according to an investigative report by the attorney general.
When a DNA sample from the crime scene was uploaded to a public genetic genealogy database in 2022, investigators identified a person in that database who was related to the one with that DNA, the report reads.
The researchers then identified the biological parents of the person with that DNA and then determined that those parents shared only one biological child: Ronney James Lee, according to the report.
Armed with that information, investigators obtained DNA from Lee’s blood card from his autopsy. Tests in 2022 and 2023 showed that his DNA matched several DNA samples from the crime scene, the report said.
Lee was working in Portsmouth at the time of Kempton’s murder, the report said.
Kempton’s family issued a statement expressing appreciation to those who investigated the case.
“Their diligence and determination, along with extraordinary personal commitment over the past decades, have led to this moment for Laura,” the family said.