PORT HURON, Mich. (TCD) — Officials arrested a 70-year-old man over the weekend on suspicion of killing a woman whose body was found in a wooded area in 1980.
According to the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office, on the morning of Nov. 2, 1980, Karen Umphrey, who was 21 years old at the time, was found dead in the State Game Area in Beards Hills. In a news release, Othram said investigators worked to identify a possible suspect at the time, but the case went cold.
More than four decades later, in 2022, officials from the Michigan State Police reportedly sent forensic DNA evidence from the crime scene to Othram, a company that utilizes forensic genetic genealogy to identify human remains and help solve cold cases.
Othram scientists took the DNA evidence from state police and created a genealogical profile of another individual who was at the crime scene in 1980. According to the sheriff’s office, through DNA testing, authorities found a match and produced investigative leads.
Sheriff’s office detectives interviewed individuals connected to the victim or suspect in the 1980s and identified Douglas Laming as the primary suspect.
On Friday, Dec. 15, at around 3 p.m., detectives arrested Laming and charged him with first-degree murder. The charge carries a possible sentence of life in prison.
According to the sheriff’s office, Laming was arraigned in court on Sunday, Dec. 17. He remains held in the St. Clair County Detention and Intervention Center on $2 million bond and is scheduled to appear in court again on Dec. 26.
In a statement, the sheriff’s office said, “The diligence of investigators and utilization of scientific advancements, including those used by the MSP Forensic Science Laboratories and Othram, were integral to the identification of Karen Umphrey’s killer.”
The investigation is ongoing.
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