WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah — Salt Lake County District Legal professional Sim Gill introduced Thursday that Donald Eugene Younge Jr. can be charged for the alleged 1996 homicide of a pizza supply girl in West Valley Metropolis.
Younge Jr. is charged with first-degree felony homicide, first-degree felony aggravated kidnapping, and first-degree felony aggravated theft.
In line with the District Legal professional, superior DNA testing on the blood taken from the seat belt buckle matched Mr. Younge’s blood. The prints from the knife additionally matched Mr. Younge’s as effectively.
“The blood and prints have been subsequently as a part of the investigation despatched to lab for testing the assertion of Lieutenant Halulic that in March of 2019, he acquired a report from the crime lab through which a DNA profile taken from the blood on a seatbelt buckle got here again with a CODIS hit to Donald Eugene Younge,” stated Gill.
On December 9, 1996, police responded to an auto-pedestrian accident at 3100 South and 5300 West, the place the feminine carrying a Pizza Hut worker uniform was recognized as Lisa Redmond, a 36-year-old mom of two kids. Investigators discovered indicators of a battle within the truck in addition to blood discovered beneath the truck. The knife can be discovered within the automobile as effectively.
FOX 13 Information spoke with Redmond’s daughter, Megan, on Thursday.
“It has been a extremely very long time with no closure and no solutions,” Megan stated.
Megan stated the incident occurred only a month earlier than her ninth birthday. Being so younger, she says she would not have a ton of recollections of her mom.
“What I do keep in mind is she’s very type, very loving, very beneficiant actually good with children,” Megan stated.
A 12 months after the incident, police and Pizza Hut had raised the reward for info that may result in an arrest to $10,000 however would stay a chilly case till Thursday.
“28 years later, after diligent work and continued efforts on chilly case work, this case has come to this decision,” stated Chief Colleen Jacobs, West Valley Metropolis Chief of Police.
As for Megan, she stated she hoped this present day would come finally sooner or later in her life.
“It is nice if doable that that justice is served, that someone is held accountable that it would not go unsolved or, you already know, she mattered, she nonetheless issues,” Megan stated.
The defendant is presently serving a jail time period of greater than 30 years on the Central Utah Correctional Facility in Gunnison, Utah, for 2 counts of first-degree felony aggravated intercourse assault and one rely of second-degree felony theft.
“We recognize the exhausting work of our investigators and detectives on the West Valley Metropolis Police Division for his or her diligent investigation, which helped result in the submitting of those costs. Whereas chilly case homicides go away an open wound, a seamless harm, as we speak’s submitting is a primary step in the direction of closure for the sufferer’s household and our neighborhood,” stated Salt Lake County District Legal professional Sim Gill. “All individuals accused of wrongdoing are presumed harmless until and till confirmed responsible in a court docket of regulation.”
Presently, no different court docket date is scheduled.
Younge additionally stays a suspect in one other 1999 homicide and is suspected of killing a number of ladies in East St. Louis, Illinois.
