| Crime |
On August 17, 2017, two masked men, dressed in black clothing, entered a home through an unlocked window to commit a robbery. They shot two teenagers present in the home multiple times. Victim Jywuan Butler was fatally wounded. |
| Evidence |
The murder weapon was found wrapped in a black sweatshirt in the defendant’s apartment. |
| DNA |
The Louisiana State Police Crime Laboratory generated DNA data from the black sweatshirt. |
| Match |
Using manual methods, the crime lab was unable to interpret the complex mixture of more than three contributors. |
| TrueAllele |
TrueAllele connected the sweatshirt evidence to suspect Jamoriya Ben with a match statistic of 1.05 quintillion. The evidence was compared to another suspect, Kenneth Smith, and TrueAllele calculated exclusionary match statistics for this reference. |
| Cybergenetics |
On October 25, 2023, Cybergenetics analyst Jennifer Bracamontes testified before an East Baton Rouge Parish jury about the TrueAllele DNA results. |
| Outcome |
On October 26, 2023, the jury found Mr. Ben guilty of second-degree murder, attempted murder and home invasion. He was sentenced to life in prison on November 28, 2023. On the same day, co-defendant Smith pled guilty to manslaughter and attempted second degree murder. Smith was sentenced to 35 years in prison. |
