DNA from spit led to the arrest of a Massachusetts man for a 1988 cold-case murder.
Fox News Digital reports that James Holloman, 65, was arrested Thursday for the May 1988 murder of Karen Taylor at her Roxbury home.
Last year, saliva samples from Holloman were collected from the sidewalk in front of his residence, allowing the Boston Police Department to obtain his DNA. This DNA has now been linked to evidence found at the scene of Taylor’s murder.
“What I understand is they collected a DNA sample from the ground after he spit, and that’s how they claim to have matched all this up,” defense attorney Anthony Ellison told Boston 25.
WCVB reports that on May 27, when Taylor’s mother called her, Taylor’s 3-year-old daughter answered the phone and told her grandmother that her mom was sleeping and could not be woken.
When Taylor’s mother arrived at the apartment, she found her daughter in a pool of blood, with wounds to her head, neck, and chest from 15 different stabs.
“Found near her body was the paycheck of James Holloman, distributed to him the day before,” Assistant District Attorney Lynn Feigenbaum said.
Holloman’s DNA was found to match scrapings from underneath Taylor’s fingernails, a bloody sweatshirt at the crime scene, and a cigarette.
On Friday, Holloman was formally charged with first-degree murder in Suffolk Superior Court. He has been denied bail and is set to return to court next month.
The Boston Police Department is reaching out through social media in hopes of gaining more information on the case. Anyone with information is strongly urged to contact the Boston Police Homicide Unit at 617-343-4470.
Community members wishing to assist in this investigation anonymously can do so by calling the CrimeStoppers Tip Line at 1-800-494-TIPS or by texting the word “TIP” to CRIME (27463).
