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The Elmira Police Department has officially identified Alfred Raymond Murray Jr. as the sole suspect in the decades-old murder of 12-year-old Mary Simpson, a case that dates back to 1964.
Despite remaining unsolved for over six decades, the tragic case of Mary Simpson was never abandoned. Thanks to a grant awarded by the organization Season of Justice in 2022, Elmira police, in collaboration with the FBI, revisited the investigation, utilizing cutting-edge forensic technologies.
In 2023, a partnership was forged between the Elmira Police Department and the Criminal Investigation Resource Center at Russell Sage College. This collaboration enabled the meticulous organization and digitization of the case files, facilitating a renewed examination of the evidence and forensic materials.
Key forensic evidence from the investigation was sent to Othram’s laboratory based in The Woodlands, Texas. There, a comprehensive DNA profile of the unidentified suspect was successfully developed by expert scientists.
Using this newly constructed DNA profile, the FBI’s forensic genetic genealogy team, in partnership with the Elmira Police Department, was able to pinpoint Alfred Raymond Murray Jr. as the suspect in this long-standing investigation.
Murray died on March 16, 2004, at the age of 73, almost 40 years to the day. Mary Simpson vanished on March 15, 1964. She was 12.
[Feature Photo via DNASolves]