Decades-Old Homicide Case Solved in Idaho
A decades-old homicide case has been solved in Idaho, thanks to modern forensic tests that linked the former neighbor of a slain woman to her murder nearly 30 years later. Authorities announced this week that Danny Lee Kennison was identified as the attacker in Wilma Mobley's brutal killing in Jerome on Aug. 10, 1995.
Mobley was 84 years old when officers found her dead from strangulation and an "attack with an axe type instrument," said Jerome Police Chief Duane Rubink in a news release issued Wednesday. At the time, Kennison and Mobley were neighbors, although authorities said they did not have any personal relationship.
Kennison died by suicide at his home in Filer, Idaho, in 2001. He was originally identified by investigators in the 90s as one of three possible suspects in Mobley's killing. But the case eventually ran cold, as the investigation failed to come up with conclusive evidence pointing to a specific attacker, the police chief said.
Cold Case Closed: New DNA Analysis Leads to Identification of Killer
After years of investigation, the cold case of the murder of [Victim's Name] has finally been closed. The Jerome Police Department, in coordination with the FBI, the Idaho State Police Lab, and other forensic sources, had been working tirelessly to identify the killer, but their efforts had been fruitless.
However, in June 2022, Sgt. Clinton Wagner took over the investigation and decided to submit the case for more advanced DNA analysis. Wagner and the state police lab technicians carefully reviewed the evidence collected during previous iterations of the investigation and sent a portion of it to the lab for testing in March of this year.
The new DNA analysis yielded significant results, leading to the identification of the killer. The police have informed Mobley's family members about the closure of the case, providing them with some much-needed closure.
The Jerome Police Department expresses its gratitude to all the dedicated officers, detectives, and prosecutors who have tirelessly worked on this case throughout the years. Their commitment and efforts have been instrumental in preserving the available evidence for this testing," a spokesperson stated. "We would also like to extend our sincere appreciation to the dedicated members of the Idaho State Police Forensics lab, whose invaluable support and hard work have made it possible for the victim's family and our department to find closure."
Located in southern Idaho, Jerome is a city situated approximately midway between Boise and Idaho Falls.
