A Loganville man, sentenced to three consecutive life sentences plus 100 years in prison, will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars after being convicted in a 1990 cold case involving the rape and murder of a sister and brother. According to the DeKalb County District Attorney's Office, the sentence was delivered to 56-year-old Kenneth Perry by DeKalb County Superior Court Chief Judge Shondeana C. Morris.
Pamela Sumpter, one of the victims, was able to describe her and her brother’s attacker before dying from her injuries. Police responded to a stabbing at a Stone Mountain apartment on July 15, 1990, where they found John Sumpter dead from stab wounds. Pamela was found injured at a neighbor's unit after she had sought help, and DNA evidence collected from her rape kit pointed to Perry.
The DeKalb County District Attorney’s Cold Case team, aided by a DOJ-funded initiative to prosecute cold cases using DNA, eventually solved the case. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation matched Perry's DNA with DNA found at the crime scene through national DNA profile databases.
In October 2023, the DeKalb County District Attorney's Office received a grant for the Prosecuting Cold Cases Using DNA initiative. They worked with the GBI and a private lab, Othram, that uses forensic genetic genealogy. The DNA collected from Pamela’s rape kit formed a family network that could include Perry. After obtaining a sample from Perry, they confirmed the match, linking him to the crime.
The trial concluded on Tuesday last week, with Perry being found guilty of two counts of Malice Murder, two counts of Felony Murder, one count of Rape, and other charges. The prosecution team, led by Senior Assistant District Attorney Shannon Hodder, worked with DeKalb County PD and other members of the DeKalb County District Attorney's Office.
