DNA leads to Oxford cold case arrest

William Moore, Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, Tupelo
·1 min read

Mar. 3—OXFORD — Modern science led to the arrest of an Indiana man for a 7-year-old sexual assault in Oxford.

Oxford police spokesman Breck Jones said investigators took a report Oct. 20, 2013 of a sexual assault by an unknown man. In late 2020, the department got a hit for a possible match to the suspect's DNA from the original sexual assault kit.

"This individual was located in Indiana and investigators worked with the Indiana Department of Corrections to acquire a new DNA sample so another comparison could be done at the state crime lab," Jones said.

The crime last tested the new DNA samples and confirmed it was the same person. The case was presented to a Lafayette County Grand Jury, which returned an indictment against Jerry Owens, 44, of Evansville, Indiana. He was subsequently arrested for rape on Feb. 24. He was booked into the Lafayette County Detention Center where he is being held without bond..

Police Chief Jeff McCutchen thanked the investigators for continuing to work on a cold case to provide answers and closure to this case and to the victim.

william.moore@djournal.com

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