DNA From Chewing Gum Leads To Arrest Of 60-Year-Old In 1980 Murder Case

A man in the US state of Oregon has been found guilty in the 1980 unsolved murder of a college student after DNA found in chewing gum linked him to the case.

As per a statement by Multnomah County District Attorney, 19-year-old Barbara Tucker on January 15, 1980, was “kidnapped, sexually assaulted, and beaten to death near a campus parking lot by Robert Plympton.”

She was a student at Mt. Hood Community College. The next morning, Ms Barbara's body was discovered by the students arriving for the class at the college.

According to a report by CNN, the 60-year-old was found guilty last week on one count of first-degree murder and four counts of second-degree murder.

However, he had pleaded not guilty and his attorneys have said that they intend to appeal his conviction.

Attorneys Stephen Houze and Jacob Houze, in a statement to CNN, said, “We will appeal, and we are confident that his convictions will be overturned.”

Talking about how chewing gum linked Mr Robert to the case, the statement by the district attorney revealed, “In 2000, vaginal swabs taken during Ms Tucker's autopsy were sent to the Oregon State Police (OSP) Crime Lab for analysis. The Crime Lab developed a DNA profile from the swabs.”

Later when the detectives conducting surveillance saw Mr Robert spitting a chewing gum, they collected it and submitted it to the OSP Crime Lab.

The statement said, “In 2021, a genealogist with Parabon Nanolabs identified Robert Plympton as a likely contributor to the unknown DNA profile developed in 2000. Detectives with the Gresham Police Department found Plympton living in Troutdale and began conducting surveillance. When they saw Plympton spit a piece of chewing gum onto the ground, detectives collected the gum and submitted it to the OSP Crime Lab.”

The statement continued, “The lab determined the DNA profile developed from the chewing gum matched the DNA profile developed from Ms. Tucker's vaginal swabs. On June 8, 2021, Plympton was taken into custody and lodged at the Multnomah County Detention Center.”

Mr Robert remains in custody, while he awaits sentencing. The hearing is scheduled for June.