**DNA from 1990 Rape Kit Ties Suspect to Georgia Double Murder Leading to Arrest**
In a significant breakthrough, DNA evidence from a decades-old rape kit has linked a Georgia man to the brutal stabbings of a woman and her brother in their suburban Atlanta apartment in 1990. Kenneth Perry, 55, has been charged with multiple counts of malice murder, aggravated assault, and other crimes in connection with the deaths of Pamela Sumpter, 43, and John Sumpter, 46, according to the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office.
Perry was also charged with raping Pamela Sumpter. The siblings were attacked on July 15, 1990, at their home in Stone Mountain, approximately 17 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta. John Sumpter had brought Perry to their apartment, and the situation quickly turned violent. Pamela Sumpter survived the initial attack and was hospitalized, where she provided authorities with a detailed description of Perry, whom she described as an acquaintance of her brother.
While hospitalized, medical officials collected a rape kit containing the attacker’s DNA. Unfortunately, Pamela succumbed to her injuries on August 5, 1990, and the case went cold. This year, a sample from the rape kit was uploaded to a national database, which matched DNA from an unprosecuted sexual assault in Michigan in 1992. The victim in that case identified the suspect as Perry, her ex-boyfriend.
The Detroit Police Department had investigated the 1992 assault, but a judge denied a warrant due to insufficient evidence. The case was reopened after Georgia authorities contacted the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office and is now being investigated under the Detroit Sexual Assault Kit Project, an initiative that began in 2009 after more than 11,000 untested kits were discovered in a storage room at the Detroit Police Department.
After a genetic genealogy firm linked DNA from Pamela Sumpter’s rape kit to a “family network that could include” Perry, authorities arrested him and directly compared his DNA to the material collected from the kit. On June 20, authorities confirmed that the samples matched.
Perry is currently being held without bond at the DeKalb County Jail. In a motion filed Monday, Perry’s lawyer requested a reasonable bond for possible pretrial release, arguing that Perry poses no significant threat or risk of obstructing justice. The lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The DeKalb County Grand Jury indicted Perry on charges connected to the 1990 deaths of Pamela and John Sumpter. Perry faces two counts of malice murder, two counts of felony murder, rape, four counts of aggravated assault, two counts of aggravated battery, two counts of possession of a knife during the commission of a felony, and theft by taking.
When officers arrived at the scene in 1990, they found John Sumpter dead. Pamela, who had been stabbed and raped, reported that her brother had also been stabbed by the man he had brought to their apartment. Despite knowing very little about Perry, she was able to provide a detailed description of his physical appearance and noted that he was from Detroit. Pamela died nearly a month later from her injuries.
With the details provided and a “Prosecuting Cold Cases Using DNA” grant secured by the D.A.’s office in October 2023, the office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation uploaded the DNA to a national database in February. The DNA profile matched DNA from a 1992 unprosecuted sexual assault case in Detroit. In that case, the victim identified the suspect as her ex-boyfriend, Kenneth Perry.
After a private genealogy lab determined that genealogical matches to the DNA from Pamela’s kit “formed a family network that could include Mr. Perry,” an arrest warrant was executed in June, and a new DNA sample linked him to the DNA from the 1990 rape kit.
“It’s been over 30 years since this terrible, evil tragedy happened to my brother and sister. We now have closure,” said Pamela and John’s sibling, James Sumpter, at a news conference.
The identification of Kenneth Perry represents the 17th case in Georgia where officials have publicly identified an individual using technology developed by Othram. Most recently, in May 2024, Marietta County Jane Doe was identified after her remains were discovered in June 1993.
Anyone who believes they may have information about Kenneth Perry or the murders of John and Pamela Sumpter is encouraged to call the District Attorney’s Cold Case Tip Line at 404-371-2444.
Source: NBC News, People
