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70-year-year old suspect charged in connection to 1980 cold case murder
Douglas Laming, 70, of Fort Gratiot is facing charges in connection with the 1980 murder of 21-year-old Karen Umphrey.
ST. CLAIR COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - A break in a 43-year murder case led to the arrest of a Michigan man.
Douglas Laming, 70, of Fort Gratiot is facing charges in connection with the 1980 murder of 21-year-old Karen Umphrey. Her body was found by two hunters in the State Game Area in Beards Hills on the morning of Nov. 2, 1980.
Karen Umphrey
The St. Clair County Sheriff's Office worked with Michigan State Police and Othram, a company specializing in forensic genetic genecology, to solve the crime.
Advancements in DNA and forensic genetic genecology led investigators to Laming. They then spoke to people who knew Laming and Umphrey more than 40 years ago as they gathered information and made connections.
"We received new information technology that could use the samples of DNA that was collected and match it with other known DNA samples on file," said Sheriff Matt King with the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office. "The DNA swab was collected as we had a search warrant for his DNA."
Douglas Laming
Investigators soon learned there was a match.
Laming was taken into custody on Dec. 15 for first-degree murder. A request for bond was denied.
Murder victim identified nearly 39 years after body found in Washtenaw County
The body of Cheryl Coates was found in a shallow grave in the area of MacArthur Blvd. and Stamford Road in Superior Township in January 1985.
Details surrounding how Laming came in contact with Umphrey remain unclear. The investigation is ongoing.
Laming is being held at the St. Clair County Detention and Intervention Center. A probable cause conference is set for Dec. 26.
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