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.