Mr Robert remains in custody pending sentencing.
New Delhi:
An Oregon man has been found guilty in the unsolved murder of a college student in 1980 after DNA found in chewing gum linked him to the case.
According to a statement from the Multnomah County District Attorney, 19-year-old Barbara Tucker was “killed by Robert Plympton near a campus parking lot on January 15, 1980.” ) kidnapped, sexually assaulted and beaten to death.”
She is a student at Mount Hood Community College. The next morning, Ms. Barbara’s body was discovered by students arriving at the college for classes.
The 60-year-old man was found guilty last week of one count of first-degree murder and four counts of second-degree murder, CNN reported.
However, he has pleaded not guilty and his lawyers have said they intend to appeal his conviction.
Attorneys Stephen Houze and Jacob Houze said in a statement to CNN, “We will appeal and we believe his conviction will be overturned. .”
Addressing how the chewing gum linked Mr. Robert to the case, the DA’s statement revealed, “In 2000, a vaginal swab taken during Ms. Tucker’s autopsy was sent to the Oregon State Police (OSP) Crime Laboratory for testing. Analysis. The crime lab extracts a DNA profile from the swab.”
Later, when detectives conducting surveillance saw Mr. Robert spit out gum, they collected it and submitted it to the OSP crime lab.
“In 2021, genealogists at Parabon Nanolabs discovered that Robert Plympton was a possible contributor to an unknown DNA profile developed in 2000. Detectives from the Gresham Police Department discovered that Plympton lived in Troutdale and began conducting surveillance. When they saw Plimpton spitting a piece of gum onto the ground, detectives collected the gum and submitted it to the OSP crime lab.”
The statement continued: “The laboratory determined that the DNA profile in the gum matched the DNA profile in Ms. Tucker’s vaginal swab. On June 8, 2021, Plimpton was taken into custody and held in the Multnomah County Detention center.”
Mr Robert remains in custody pending sentencing. A hearing is scheduled for June.
