TrueAllele solves 1963 Winnebago cold case using “inconclusive” DNA

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Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v Stephen Moore

TrueAllele connects suspect to complex five person mixture from revolver

Crime On April 21, 2019, police followed a speeding vehicle that subsequently crashed. When officers approached, the driver fled from the vehicle. Police found the body of Joshua Smith in the vehicle, with gunshot wounds to the head and neck.
Evidence Police recovered the murder weapon, a Ruger revolver, from inside the vehicle.
DNA The Pennsylvania State Police crime laboratory generated DNA data from the revolver.
Match The crime lab could not obtain interpretable results from the revolver data due to the complexity of the mixture.
TrueAllele The TrueAllele computer could interpret the evidence, and separated the five-person mixture data into contributor genetic types. TrueAllele compared the evidence to suspect Stephen Moore and calculated a match statistic of 53.6 billion.
Cybergenetics    On May 17, 2022, Cybergenetics analyst Jennifer Bracamontes testified before a Montgomery County jury about the TrueAllele DNA results.
Outcome On May 19, 2022, the jury found Stephen Moore guilty of first-degree murder and a weapons possession charge. The judge sentenced him to life in prison.
Media

  • Suspect Identified In Pottstown Easter Killing: DA - Patch
  • Man Wanted For April Murder In Montgomery Co. Captured: DA - Patch
  • Pottstown man charged in fatal shooting - Reading Eagle
  • Man accused in Pottstown Easter Sunday killing appears in court - WFMZ 69 News
  • Accused Pottstown killer wants gun evidence suppressed from trial - Reading Eagle
  • Judge sets December trial date for Pottstown man accused of gunshot slaying - The Reporter
  • Accused Pottstown killer won’t face death penalty at trial - Reading Eagle
  • Trial begins for Pottstown man accused in fatal shooting - The Mercury
  • Pottstown man denies fatally shooting his friend - The Mercury
  • Verdict: Pottstown man convicted of fatally shooting friend - The Mercury
  • Man convicted in deadly Easter Sunday shooting in Pottstown - WFMZ News