Blood sample from dead suspect helps solve 1988 homicide, cops claim Storm Gifford
A random blood sample taken in the late 1980s has led to the solving of a 33-year-old homicide cold case.
Three days before the body of Gayle Barrus was discovered in Calhoun County, Mich., in October 1988, 24-year-old Roger Plato, an assault suspect in a different case, was killed.
At the time, Plato was being interviewed by cops about a different assault. While attempting to flee, he was shot dead, the Battle Creek Enquirer reported.
Investigators subsequently took a blood sample from Plato.
Barrus was 30 years old when she was last spotted at a Battle Creek, Mich., coffeeshop. Sixteen days later her raped body was found alongside a road by hunters.