| Crime |
In June 2016, there was a home invasion where assailants ransacked a home with their faces covered up. They left behind a scarf. A few days later, Donnie Cooksey was killed in his home during an armed robbery up the street from the first home. Police believed that these two crimes were connected. |
| Evidence |
Police collected the scarf from the first home invasion as evidence. |
| DNA |
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Crime Laboratory generated DNA data from the scarf. |
| Match |
The lab deemed interpretation of the DNA data to be inconclusive due to the limited profile obtained and the unknown number of contributors. |
| TrueAllele |
On the same DNA data, TrueAllele statistically included Abdullah Powell as a contributor to the scarf with a match statistic of 1.57 million. |
| Cybergenetics |
In December 2020, TrueAllele’s reliability was challenged in a pre-trial admissibility hearing. On January 15, 2021, the judge ruled that the TrueAllele evidence was admissible. On December 1, 2022, Cybergenetics analyst William Allan virtually testified before a Stewart County jury about the TrueAllele DNA results. |
| Outcome |
On December 2, 2022, the jury found Abdullah Powell guilty of reckless homicide, first degree murder in during a burglary, first degree murder during a theft, and aggravated burglary. |
