DNA breakthrough cracks 35-year-old murder cold case

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A 35-year-old murder case in Charlotte is no longer considered cold after investigators announced an arrest made possible by advances in DNA technology that did not exist decades ago.

In the 1990 killing of Kim Thomas Friedland, investigators had identified a suspect early on but lacked the forensic evidence to file charges. That changed with the help of new tools now available to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s crime lab.

Matthew Mathis, director of the CMPD Crime Laboratory, said forensic science has evolved significantly over the past two decades.

“There have been significant changes in forensics in the last 18 years,” Mathis said.

Mathis has led the lab since 2008. During that time, he said improvements in DNA testing have transformed what investigators can analyze.

“Now we have the capability of developing a DNA profile from very, very small amounts of DNA,” he said.

That includes DNA not visible to the human eye.

“Skin cells that are left behind when an individual touches an item for instance, or even degraded, DNA from cold cases,” Mathis said.

The breakthrough in Friedland’s case came through probabilistic genotyping software, a forensic tool that uses mathematical algorithms and biological modeling to analyze complex or degraded DNA samples.

CMPD said Marion Gales was taken into custody after DNA evidence linked him to the crime. Investigators had considered Gales a primary suspect early in the investigation, but at the time, there was not enough forensic evidence to formally charge him.

During a news conference last week, CMPD credited the crime lab’s work in moving the case forward.

“They do this work because they believe in the work. They do this work because they believe in bringing justice to victims, to victims’ families, no matter how long ago the incident occurred,” CMPD Deputy Chief Ryan Butler said.

Mathis said newer tools allow scientists to revisit evidence once thought unusable.

“We’re now able to develop profiles from evidence that we couldn’t develop profiles from 20 years ago,” Mathis said.

That is especially important in cold cases, where evidence may be limited or degraded.

“Sometimes cold case evidence is degraded. Sometimes there’s very small amounts, sometimes it’s been previously tested and there may not be a lot of evidence left to test. So that’s part of the entire testing process is just evaluating the evidence and determining what type of technology we can use, to get the answer that we need from that evidence,” Mathis said.

The testing process can take time and may require multiple rounds of analysis. In some cases, even advanced technology does not yield enough DNA to find a match. But when it does, Mathis said the impact is significant.

“Being able to provide the detectives and the court system with an answer to help them resolve a case, as this is an amazing feeling. It’s very rewarding,” he said.

CMPD officials said rapid DNA testing can return preliminary results in as little as 90 minutes, though additional analysis is required before results are presented in court.

Gales is facing a first-degree murder charge and is expected back in court March 13.

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