TrueAllele solves 1963 Winnebago cold case using “inconclusive” DNA

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State of Tennessee v Kenneth McDonald

TrueAllele connects suspect to weapon from murder and burglary

Crime In April 2019, Jason Neusse’s wife found him beaten to death and bound with duct tape and extension cords in a former tobacco warehouse area that had been converted to their living quarters. Police alleged that the murder took place during a burglary.
Evidence Police recovered a metal “T” shaped object from the scene near the victim.
DNA The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Nashville Crime Laboratory produced DNA data from the metal object.
Match The crime lab was unable to interpret the minor contributor to the evidence due to the “limited minor contributor profile obtained.”
TrueAllele TrueAllele connected the 10% minor contributor from the metal object to suspect Kenneth McDonald with a match statistic of 2.92 million.
Cybergenetics    On April 12, 2023, Cybergenetics casework supervisor William Allan testified before a Smith County jury about the TrueAllele DNA results.
Outcome On April 15, 2023, the jury found Kenneth McDonald guilty of first degree murder and aggravated burglary.
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