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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. |
Media
- Homicide investigation underway after body found in Smith Co. - NewsChannel 5 Nashville
- South Carthage murder investigation results in arrests - TBI Newsroom
- South Carthage murder case making way through court - Carthage Courier
- McDonald found guilty of first degree murder - Smith County Insider
- Guilty verdict in murder trial - Carthage Courier