Police hope new DNA evidence helps solve 2006 homicide case
Posted on Sunday, December 23, 2007
Fayetteville police believe new DNA evidence could make or break the unsolved investigation into the homicide of 21-yearold Nina Ingram.
“ In the event that someone is arrested, we’ll use that information to eliminate or investigate that person’s possible involvement, ” said Fayetteville Police Sgt. Tim Franklin.
Franklin said the evidence was taken from the murder scene of Ingram, who was found strangled in her bedroom April 22, 2006, at what was then the Law Quad Apartments at 701 W. Sycamore St. Her death is Fayetteville’s only unsolved homicide since the mid-1970 s.
Though no suspects have been named in the case, Franklin said the DNA evidence could help identify or eliminate any persons of interest. The sample, he said, has been entered in to the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System, known as CODIS.
According to an article published in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, every state takes DNA from convicted felons. The national DNA database, the article stated, currently contains nearly 5 million samples. As of last week, the system’s 4, 979, 095 DNA samples included 83, 371 offenders ’ samples in Arkansas. The system also contained 2, 130 unknown samples from unsolved Arkansas cases and 191, 823 unknown samples nationwide.
“ When it goes in to CODIS, it’s automatically compared with everyone else’s sample, “ he said. “ That way, we can tell if it matches with anyone else who’s come in contact with law enforcement. So far, we haven’t found any matches in the database. ”
Despite coming up empty handed, investigators remain hopeful that the case will be solved.
“ I, personally, was involved in a 12-year-old murder that was solved 12 years after the fact, ” Franklin said. “ We won’t be giving up on this case. We hope it doesn’t take 12 years, but we won’t stop investigating no matter what. ”
Franklin said the DNA sample was taken from a piece of evidence collected at the crime scene. Though he wouldn’t specify which piece of evidence it was taken from, Franklin added that DNA samples can be collected in from a variety of sources including clothing, fluids and liquids. The sample, he added, was not from a sexual assault. Ingram wasn’t raped.
Ingram’s mother, Judy Ingram, said the new evidence linked with her daughter’s case has renewed her hope.
“ At least they have something, ” she said. “ I’m glad they have the technology to work with that. It’s something that hadn’t happened before. ”
Judy Ingram said she’s confident that police will catch her daughter’s killer.
“ I would never think negative about it, ” she said. “ In a situation like this, you have to think positive. The police have kept me up to date with everything that’s going on. I’m absolutely hopeful. ”
In addition to aiding investigators with the Nina Ingram investigation, Franklin said the evidence could also be used to solve other crimes.
“ It’s an unknown sample of DNA, but it could be used to link this case to another case with an unknown sample, ” he said. “ Anytime there’s a crime of similar circumstances, we compare it with other agencies. We’re always searching. We don’t know if it was someone who lives here in town or maybe someone who was traveling. ”
Police don’t know if Ingram’s slaying was random or if it was linked to her job as a loss prevention officer for the Wal-Mart Supercenter on Sixth Street. Investigators have also considered whether Ingram was stalked, and checked reports of peeping Toms in the area. They additionally looked into her life as a business student at Northwest Arkansas Community College in Bentonville.
Franklin said investigators have also compared the DNA sample with other people questioned in the case.
“ It hasn’t matched anyone we’ve dealt with, ” he said.
Franklin added that the sample is the police department’s newest evidence linked with the Ingram investigation.
“ Any new evidence is a positive step forward, ” he said. “ DNA samples are just another investigative tool. They give you a more definitive identification of a person as opposed to finger printing. It’s a true stamp of that person. ”
Franklin said the amount of time it takes to analyze DNA evidence varies in each situation.
“ It’s not that it took us a long time to get this evidence, it’s a matter of how the crime lab analyzes it, ” he said. “ We collect a lot of evidence in these cases and the crime lab uses a variety of techniques. It’s a matter of whether or not it was analyzed in a certain way. ”
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