DNA sample leads to charges in 1981 cold case murder in Indiana

CHICAGO (CBS) — A father-son detective team in Griffith, Indiana, solved a 1981 cold case with the help of technology that wasn't around when the murder happened.

Gregory Thurson was charged with the murder of 51-year-old John Blaylock. 

In 2018, a Griffith police detective with help of his dad, a retired Griffith detective, looked into the cold case.

 They sent blood samples found at the scene to the Indiana State Police, and a DNA profile was developed. 

There was no match until police outsourced the sample to a private genetic genealogy investigative team. 

The genetic investigator identified the familial match between the two brothers. One gave a DNA sample to detectives, and it was not a match. This then identified his brother, Thurston, as the suspect.

Police arrested Thurson in Eugene, Oregon. He was placed into custody in the Lake County Jail.