DNA from an old rape kit linked a Georgia man to the 1990 murder of a woman and her brother in their suburban Atlanta home, officials said Wednesday.
Kenneth Perry, 55, faces charges including murder and assault in the deaths of Pamela Sumpter, 43, and John Sumpter, 46, according to the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office.
Perry was also accused of raping Pamela Sumpter. He was arrested recently and indicted this week, court records show.
The attack occurred on July 15, 1990, in Stone Mountain, north of Atlanta. Pamela Sumpter survived initially but died of her injuries weeks later. She had described Perry as an acquaintance of her brother’s.
During her hospitalization, medical staff collected a rape kit with the attacker’s DNA. This year, DNA from the kit matched a sample in a national database from an unrelated sexual assault case in Michigan in 1992, where Perry was identified as a suspect.
Genetic genealogy linked Perry to the Sumpter case. Authorities arrested him after confirming the DNA match on June 20.
Perry is currently held without bond at DeKalb County Jail. His lawyer has requested a reasonable bond for potential release before trial.