They arrested suspect of raping and murdering woman 26 years ago with DNA sample found in trash

The murder of an American teacher 26 years ago has finally caught a suspect, thanks to DNA collected in the trash at home which investigators used to identify a man who is now 61 years old and who was a friend of the victim when he died.

Mary Catherine Edwards was a respected teacher living alone in Beaumont, Texas in 1995. At 31, he had a large circle of friends and a close-knit family, and he had just moved into a new home.

Edwards was last seen on the night of Friday January 13, 1995. Beaumont Company, her parents were concerned the next day when she did not answer the phone calls. They went to his house to check on his welfare, and there they found a horrible scene.

“When they arrived they found Edwards drowned in his bathroom,” said a press release from the Ministry of Public Security. “They sexually assaulted her and killed her.” They had handcuffed her behind her back.

For more than 25 years, the case has remained unsolved

But authorities got a break from DNA evidence and arrested a surprising suspect.

Clayton Bernard Foreman, 61, of Franklin County, Ohio, was charged with murder in Edwards’ death. The police told the American channel News 4 San Antonio they both attended the same high school.

Foreman and Edwards were casual friends; she was even a bridesmaid at the wedding of Foreman and his first wife.

According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by KJAS-TV, DNA testing in 1995 led police to Foreman.

In April 2020, researchers began using genetic genealogy to help find a suspect. They first met several distant cousins, bringing them closer and closer to their arrest. Eventually, DNA led them to Foreman. Ohio investigators last month collected trash at Foreman’s home. They say the DNA in these items matched DNA taken from Edwards’ body.

In addition, investigators claim the crime against Edwards had similarities to the rape of one of Foreman’s classmates in 1981. For this crime, Foreman pleaded and received three years of probation.

Foreman, who was arrested in Ohio, will be transferred to Texas jurisdiction where he will face charges for Edwars’ murder.

He has yet to plead guilty, and online arrest records do not reflect a lawyer authorized to speak on his behalf.

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