By Tim Stelloh -
NBC News
Pennsylvania investigators identified the suspect in an unsolved murder thanks to DNA samples obtained from a discarded cigarette butt and a bitten piece of a Styrofoam cup, authorities said Monday.
Vallis Slaughter, 39, was arrested last week in connection with a 2012 shooting
that claimed the life of Julio Torres
, 34, in the parking lot of a restaurant in West Reading, northwest of Philadelphia, he told the police. Press John Adams, Berks County District Attorney.
The 2012 Styrofoam cup that was used as evidence.
The cigarette butt used to take the DNA sample. Berks County DA
Court records show Slaughter was charged with multiple crimes, including first-degree murder, aggravated assault and conspiracy.
Another person, Jomaine Case, had already been convicted of conspiracy in the same murder, Adams said.
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Adams explained that the March 24 shooting
took place after an argument
, although it was unclear what else may have led to the killing.
Suspect Vallis Slaughter holding a Styrofoam cup on March 24, 2012.Berks County DA
“To date we have never determined what the motive for this shooting was, other than some senseless dispute,” Adams said.
Adams claimed that Case did not identify Slaughter as the possible suspect and that DNA obtained from the Styrofoam cup found at the crime scene a decade ago did not match anyone in
CODIS, the law enforcement database that contains the DNA profiles
of criminals who have been convicted.
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After reexamining the case last year, investigators pulled a photo from a cellphone that belonged to “an alleged associate” of the man authorities believed could be responsible for the shooting, Adams said.
The facial recognition program identified the man in the photo as Slaughter, Adams said.
Slaughter lived with his mother in Jersey City, and in February authorities monitoring him picked up a smoking cigarette butt that he threw on the ground before entering his mother's home, Adams said.
A DNA profile collected from the cigarette matched a sample taken from the Styrofoam cup, Adams said.
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Slaughter
was arrested last Wednesday
.
He is jailed without bail in New Jersey and awaiting release to Pennsylvania, Adams said.
An attorney representing Slaughter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Adams assured that Slaughter
is also a suspect in a homicide in Brooklyn
.
He did not provide additional details about the alleged crime.
A spokesperson for the New York Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.