Police solve brutal murder of a mother and her son thanks to DNA

Stacy Falcon-Dewey, 23, and her 3-year-old son, Jacob Dewey, were found shot to death on October 28, 1994, in Renton, Washington.

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(CNN) -- 

More than 27 years after a woman and her son were killed in a Seattle suburb, authorities have charged a man in their deaths.

Jerome Frank Jones, 51, was charged with aggravated murder in the 1994 deaths of Stacy Falcon-Dewey, 23, and her 3-year-old son, Jacob Dewey, in Renton, Washington, according to documents filed Tuesday. .

Stacy Falcon-Dewey, 23, and her 3-year-old son, Jacob Dewey, were found shot to death on October 28, 1994, in Renton, Washington.

Jones is currently jailed for the 1995 murder of a man in California, prosecutor Jessica Berliner said.

Online records show that he is not eligible for parole in that state until 2030.

"The defendant bound Stacy Falcon-Dewey, beat her, orally raped her, and likely shot her son to death in front of her before killing her. The extraordinary violence and cruelty of these murders demonstrate the extreme danger they pose to society." , the court documents say.

Vianne Falcon, Falcon-Dewey's mother, told CNN affiliate KING on Wednesday that she was emotionally devastated by the loss of her daughter and grandson.

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"I couldn't believe it," he said, referring to the day police told him of the murders.

"And I ran down the street like a mad woman until I found a place where I could break down and cry."

If convicted, Jones would face life in prison without the possibility of parole, according to the documents.

Jones is scheduled to appear in court on March 1, according to the Superior Court clerk's office.

CNN has reached out to Karim Merchant, Jones' public defender, for comment.

How did the police solve the case?

The bodies of Falcon-Dewey and her son were discovered on Oct. 28, 1994, after a Seattle Times newspaper deliveryman called 911 and reported seeing the mother's body, according to a probable cause document.

When officers arrived, they found the mother and son lying in the middle of the street next to the mother's car, both shot in the head, according to the document.

The weapon used in the murders has not been recovered.

Police say there were signs of a struggle at the scene, based on evidence collected.

"For example, some of the contents of Stacy's bag were scattered throughout the vehicle, including her purse. The car keys appeared to have fallen between the driver's seat and the door and were not readily visible," the document says.

The initial connection to Jones was established in 2002 through DNA testing, according to the document.

In an interview with the suspect at a California prison, Jones confirmed that he had lived near Renton between 1994 and 1995, but denied knowing Falcon-Dewey, according to the document.

Over the next several years, additional evidence was presented for DNA evidence, and a significant breakthrough occurred in December 2021 when DNA traces linked to Jones were found on a jacket worn by Jacob Dewey at the time of his murder. , According to the document.

The prior DNA connection between the suspect and the swabs taken from Falcon-Dewey was also confirmed, he said.

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