1981 Laura Kempton Homicide Solved using Forensic Genetic Genealogy

FOUNTAIN VALLEY, CA / ACCESSWIRE / July 20, 2023 / Identifinders International, in conjunction with the Portsmouth, New Hampshire Police Department announces the identification of Ronney James Lee as the suspect in the 1981 homicide and sexual assault of 23-year-old Portsmouth, NH resident Laura Kempton. She was found dead in her apartment in September 1981. Lee died in 2005.

On Monday, September 28, 1981, Kempton was found murdered in her apartment located at 20 Chapel Street in Portsmouth, NH. The NH Medical Examiner reported that she had died of blunt force trauma to the head. Kempton was a student at the Portsmouth Beauty School and was employed at Macro Polo, Inc. and Karen’s Ice Cream Parlor.

Ronney James Lee, died at the age of 45 in February 2005 at Catholic Medical Center after a sudden illness. Lee was born in Ft. Myers, FL in 1960, but he had lived in Manchester for the previous 15 years. Lee had no known connection to Kempton.

Identifinders became involved in March 2017, when the only means of using FGG was comparison of the crime scene Y-profile to the Y-STR genetic genealogy databases to try to determine the last name of an offender. No name match was discovered for Kempton’s assailant and no suspect was developed. In 2022, new technology that yielded DNA allowing advanced FGG SNP testing to be performed. This eventually led to Lee’s identification.

“This case is an example of persistence and cooperation by the Portsmouth Police Department, the New Hampshire Department of Justice, and our investigative partners, including Identifinders International,” said Attorney General John M. Formella. “Despite encountering numerous hurdles along the way, investigators never stopped working toward solving this murder and identifying the person responsible. This case sends a clear message that no matter the difficulties, we will never stop investigating our cold cases.”

“This case is a good example of how investigative work has tracked the development of FGG technology”, stated Dr. Colleen Fitzpatrick, President of Identifinders International. “Our initial FGG Y-STR work in 2017 provided a basis for later FGG SNP analysis. Linda Doyle did excellent work; she was the right forensic genealogist for the job. We are pleased to assist the Portsmouth Police Department in solving Laura’s case”.

About Identifinders International

Identifinders International is a fee-based forensic service that works with law enforcement agencies, coroners, and medical examiners to apply genetic genealogy, Y-DNA and autosomal SNP analysis to solve cold case homicides, sexual assaults, and unidentified remains. For more information, please visit www.identifinders.com.

CONTACT:

Misty Gillis
[email protected]
714-576-3065

SOURCE: Identifinders International LLC