A jury convicted a man responsible for the deaths of two siblings in DeKalb County, more than three decades after the crimes took place.
Kenneth Perry, 55, was found guilty of rape, murder and other charges in the deaths of of 46-year-old John Sumpter and his sister Pamela Sumpter, 43, at their Redan apartment in DeKalb on July 15, 1990. The jury deliberated for about two hours before reaching a verdict.
“While we are satisfied…make no mistake this verdict was not just for me or my office, the jury’s verdict today was for Pamela, John and the entire Sumpter family,” DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston said at a press conference Tuesday afternoon. “A family that has waited decades for their loved ones murderer to be brought to justice.”
Superior Court Judge Shondeana C Morris has scheduled sentencing for Perry to take place next week, when the Sumpter family will give victim impact statements.
John was killed that night, while Pamela didn’t immediately succumb to her injuries and was able to speak with police before she died a couple of weeks after the assault. Pamela’s rape kit remained in the custody of the DeKalb County Police Department for years.
Perry’s identity never surfaced in any DNA databases accessible to law enforcement until 2022 when the Georgia Bureau of Investigation sent off the evidence as part of an effort to work through a backlog of pre-1999 rape kits. Investigators were able to use forensic genetic genealogy, known as FGG, to confirm Perry was a match to DNA collected in a rape kit taken from Pamela Sumpter following the assault.
Credit: DeKalb County Sheriff's Office
Credit: DeKalb County Sheriff's Office
The DNA matched an alleged rape in Michigan that was never prosecuted, but where the alleged victim had identified Perry as the suspect. Perry was then found by investigators living in Loganville, just a county away from the Sumpter’s home.
FGG taps into the vast web of genetic information housed in public genealogy databases and, combined with other investigative techniques, can help detectives identify once-anonymous suspects, victims and missing persons. The FGG analysis allowed investigators to secure arrest warrants against Perry.
Boston credited a federal grant her office received for the use of FGG as the breakthrough needed to get a guilty verdict against Perry in this case.
“It’s hard to get grant money like this, it is not easy. I think what we have shown today, if you give us the resources we’ll get out there, we’ll beat the streets and we’ll get justice for victims today, even if we couldn’t get justice for those victims 25 or 30 years ago,” she said.
Once in custody, a search warrant was executed to get his DNA, which matched the samples collected in the Michigan and DeKalb cases.
Perry took the stand on Monday, where he claimed to have been drugged and sexually assaulted by John Sumpter and another man inside the apartment. He denied that he had raped or killed Pamela and John Sumpter.
“All three of these people were alive when I left out of that house that night,” Perry said.
Perry’s attorney Daryl Queen called the killings a “tragic” and “brutal” and did not dispute Perry was there that night but continued to say his client was innocent during closing arguments.
DeKalb County Senior Assistant District Attorney Shannon Hodder called Perry’s testimony a “disgusting story” and said it didn’t add up to the evidence presented during trial, which included witness testimony from retired law enforcement that worked the case, the Sumpter family and others.
Boston said the verdict sends a message for anyone who thinks they might have gotten away with a crime in DeKalb County.
“I hope todays verdict sends a message to anyone who falsely believes they’ve gotten away with a crime in DeKalb County. No matter how much time has passed, we will never give up on securing justice,” she said.
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
