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DNA From Chewing Gum Leads To Killer Who Raped, Beat To Death Woman In 1980 | Details

College student student Barbara Tucker was abducted, raped and beaten to death at around 7 PM on January 15, 1980 near a campus parking lot, a release by Multnomah County District Attorney stated. Her body was found the next morning by students going for classes.

Ajay Kumar

Updated Mar 24, 2024, 17:24 IST

Robert Plympton and Barbara Tucker

New Delhi: 44 years after Mt. Hood Community College student Barbara Tucker, then 19, was kidnapped, sexually assaulted and beaten to death, culprit Robert Plympton, now 60, has been found guilty. For these four decades, the police tried identifying the murderer but a breakthrough came when Plympton spit a chewing gun and DNA testing came at play.

What Is The Case

Then, as per the release, in 2000, her vaginal swabs taken during autopsy were sent to the Oregon State Police (OSP) Crime Lab for analysis. The Crime Lab developed used it to develop a DNA profile from the swabs.

DNA Profiling And 'Red Hair' Connection

Virginia-based DNA technology company Parabon NanoLabs began looking at the profile and try to identify possible matches from the DNA.

Parabon’s Chief Genetic Genealogist CeCe Moore said while building family trees of the people who shared DNA with the sample provided by police, she discovered World War II draft record cards of red-headed men, a CNN report stated.

"This case at the time was the most confident red hair prediction Parabon scientists had ever had," Moore told CNN, adding that "there was extremely high likelihood that the person who murdered and raped Barbara had red hair."

She said that this helped because it made her focus on one particular line of the family and follow that red hair down. "And then I landed in Oregon."

Robert Plympton And His Chewing Gum

Moore identified Robert Plympton as the likely suspect in March 2021, as per CNN. Investigators later began surveilling Plympton and collected a wad of chewing gum that he spit out, the DA’s office said.

The DNA pulled from the gum matched the profile from the autopsy swabs leading to Plympton's arrest on June 8, 2021.

Robert has meanwhile pleaded not guilty, but will remain in custody as he awaits sentencing, the CNN report added.

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