DNA found in chewing gum leads to arrest of 60-year-old in murder case dating back to 1980

The DNA found in chewing gum led to the arrest after which conviction of a suspect in a murder case which occurred in 1980 in the US state of Oregon.

Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt on March 18 introduced {that a} Multnomah County choose delivered a responsible verdict for Robert Arthur Plympton, 60, for the 1980 murder of Barbara Tucker, close to Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham.

Incident

On January 15, 1980, Barbara Tucker, a scholar at Mt. Hood Community College, was kidnapped, sexually assaulted, and crushed to demise close to a campus parking zone by Robert Plympton.

On the morning of January 16, 1980, college students arriving for sophistication at Mt. Hood Community College found the physique of Ms. Tucker in a wooded space between Kane Rd and a faculty parking zone.

In 2000, vaginal swabs taken throughout Ms. Tucker’s post-mortem had been despatched to the Oregon State Police (OSP) Crime Lab for evaluation.

The Crime Lab developed a DNA profile from the swabs.

Chewing Gum and DNA

“In 2021, a genealogist with Parabon Nanolabs recognized Robert Plympton as a probable contributor to the unknown DNA profile developed in 2000,” learn an announcement issued by the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office.

Detectives with the Gresham Police Department found Plympton dwelling in Troutdale and commenced conducting surveillance.

“When they noticed Plympton spit a chunk of chewing gum onto the bottom, detectives collected the gum and submitted it to the OSP Crime Lab,” the assertion mentioned.

The lab decided the DNA profile developed from the chewing gum matched the DNA profile developed from Tucker’s vaginal swabs.

On June 8, 2021, Plympton was taken into custody and lodged on the Multnomah County Detention Center.

Bench Trial

Chief Deputy District Attorney Kirsten Snowden and Senior Deputy District Attorney Todd Jackson represented the state at trial, which occurred in entrance of Judge Amy Baggio from February 26 to March 15, 2024.

Judge Baggio delivered her verdict on March 15, discovering Plympton responsible of one rely of Murder in the primary diploma, and 4 counts of totally different theories of murder in the second diploma.

Sentencing has been scheduled for June 21 in entrance of Judge Baggio.

Plympton stays in custody in Multnomah County.