1. DNA identifies suspect in 30-year-old Austin cold case
2. Long-tailed DNA analysis leads to suspect identification in Austin cold case.
Accident – Death – Obituary News : AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Austin Police Department has made a breakthrough in a cold case that has remained unsolved for nearly three decades. Thanks to a DNA sample collected at the crime scene, detectives have identified the man responsible for the murder that occurred in south Austin in 1994.
The victim, Bert Allen Mann, was brutally stabbed to death in his home on Star Grass Circle on May 14, 1994. After the incident, the police obtained a blood sample from the suspect, but it wasn’t until 2005, when the Cold Case Unit was established, that the blood stain was tested for DNA.
Sergeant Melanie Rodriguez of the Austin Police Department’s Cold Case Unit revealed that the DNA profile was sent to a private lab in March of last year. The lab’s analysis led to the identification of a possible suspect in June. The suspect was later identified as Kenneth Wayne Robbins, who was found to be living in Lubbock and working as a long-haul truck driver.
In an effort to gather more evidence, a detective from the Austin Police Department went to the Lubbock business where Robbins worked on September 8, 2023, to serve a search warrant for his DNA. However, a few days later, on September 13, the owners of the trucking company reported that one of their trucks had not moved from a truck stop in Weatherford, Texas. Law enforcement officers conducted a welfare check and discovered Robbins dead inside the truck.
The Austin Police Department’s Homicide Cold Case/Missing Persons Unit, which consists of seven detectives and one sergeant, has been diligently working on unsolved cases dating back to the 1960s. Currently, they have 162 unsolved cases, with 30 of them being missing persons cases.
The breakthrough in the Mann murder case came through the use of genetic genealogy. Despite investigating over 40 suspects and searching DNA databases over the years, it was not until last year that DNA matching and genetic genealogy led to the identification of Kenneth Wayne Robbins as the suspect. Dr. Amy Gruszecki, a forensic pathologist with American Forensics in Mesquite, explained that popular DNA test kits used for genealogy purposes can provide valuable leads for law enforcement in cases like this.
Rodriguez emphasized that genetic genealogy has proven successful in two cases investigated by the department, including the Mann murder. This breakthrough serves as a reminder of the importance of DNA technology and the tireless efforts of the Austin Police Department’s Cold Case Unit in seeking justice for victims and closure for their families..
1. “DNA identifies suspect in 30-year-old Austin cold case”
2. “Long-tailed DNA analysis leads to suspect in 30-year-old Austin cold case”.
