Forensic Files 4

*TV Show: Forensic Files

S1E6: South-side Strangler  

*Location: Arlington Virginia

*Date: 1987

*What happened: Susan Tucker was murdered in her home by an intruder and then tied up and raped. This case was similar to others in the area making police think that they were linked together. The specific style of the way the rope was tied gave lead on what the police would be looking for. A man was put in jail, claiming that he had murder a woman just 2 years prior to Susan Tucker murder. Timothy Wilson Spencer broke into the Tucker’s home by entering through the basement window, making sure to clean his footprints. He then (assuming) roamed around the home until Susan arrived alone while her husband was out on business. Spencer then attacked the woman knocking her belongings on the ground by the front door. The two ended up, upstairs in the master bedroom. There laid Susan laying naked, on her stomach with her hands tied behind her back.

*What evidence was collected:

1. Bed sheets
2. Pieces of glass
3. Rope

*What did the evidence show (testing results): Investigators took samples of the semen that was left on Susan’s sheets and examined the semen that was similar to the Tucker’s case with 3 other women and found a match. Also the rope tying was similar to the other cases.

*What was the conclusion of the case?: Timothy Wilson Spencer was the first person to be convicted of a major crime through DNA testing.