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A suspect in a 1972 murder died from a reported suicide hours before a jury sentenced him, Washington state officials said.
The body of Terrence Miller, 78, was found in a house in Edmonds, about 16 miles north of Seattle, just before 10 a.m. Monday, the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement posted to Facebook.
The county medical examiner will definitively determine the cause of his death.
Miller had been on trial for the murder of Jody Loomis, a 20-year-old woman who died on August 23, 1972. Authorities said she was cycling from her home in Bothell to a nearby stable to ride a horse when she received a bullet in the head.
Later that evening, two people discovered that Loomis was undressed and suffering from a gunshot wound. She died in hospital.
The case was unsolved for decades until the use of genetic genealogy and DNA testing identified Miller as a suspect.
“A digital file containing DNA genotypic data collected from evidence collected from the victim has been uploaded to GEDmatch, a public genetic genealogy website. Several promising matches have been found for some of the suspect’s relatives.” , the sheriff’s office explained in a 2019 Facebook post announcing. Miller’s arrest.
“After the genealogist identified the relatives of potential suspects based on the family tree, police acquired a DNA sample left in a mug a suspect had used. Washington state confirmed that it positively matched the DNA profile of crime scene evidence, “authorities said in the post.
According to The Everett Herald, authorities were able to make the connection by comparing the DNA sample from the cut to semen left on a boot that Loomis was wearing.
Miller was arrested at his home and charged with first degree murder. Investigators believe that at the time of Loomis’ death, he was living near where his body was found. He pleaded not guilty to the charge, according to The Everett Herald.
Miller was on bail when deputies were called home on Monday by one of his family members. Just hours after his death, a jury found him guilty of first degree murder after two weeks of testimony.
Loomis’ brother John Loomis has said he would have liked to see Miller go to jail.
“He got away with it for 48 years,” he said Tuesday in a telephone interview with NBC News.
John Loomis was 27 at the time of his sister’s death and was living away from home with his own family after his marriage. He said he did not attend the verdict but watched it via a live stream.
“I was so glad they finally got it,” he said of Miller’s arrest. “Justice was almost done.”
Laura Martin, a public defender for Miller, said her client was innocent and the only evidence against him was “a botched DNA analysis from the outside of a boot.”
“What I can tell you is that essential evidence in this case has been lost or destroyed and the evidence presented to the jury has not been considered for almost three decades,” Martin said. in a press release sent by email.
“The crime lab broke rules designed to ensure accurate results, covered up discrepancies and buried notes that questioned DNA testing. These rules exist to protect the innocent and to break them when it seems it doesn’t matter is a miscarriage of justice. It wasn’t science, it was an agenda. “
The prosecutor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Martin’s allegations.
Martin said the sample found on Loomis’ boot doesn’t tell the whole story or point to his killer.
“Death seemed better than leaving a jury to decide a verdict on evidence tainted with evidence. This is a terrible tragedy that began with the death of Jody Loomis and is made worse by an innocent man who commits suicide.” , she said.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text HOME at 741741, or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.
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