In a stunning development, a man residing in the suburbs of Portland, Oregon, has been convicted in connection with a cold case dating back to 1980. The breakthrough in the case came when DNA extracted from a discarded piece of chewing gum pointed to his involvement in the murder.
Following a trial presided over by Multnomah County Circuit Judge Amy Baggio, Robert Plympton, aged 60, was pronounced guilty of first-degree murder in the tragic killing of 19-year-old college student Barbara Mae Tucker. The Multnomah County District Attorney's Office disclosed this significant development in a news release issued on Monday.
While Plympton was found guilty of murder, he was not convicted of rape or sexual abuse due to insufficient evidence to establish that the acts occurred while Tucker was still alive. A medical examination revealed that Tucker had been subjected to sexual assault and succumbed to fatal injuries inflicted through physical violence.
The case took a decisive turn in 2021 when a genealogist from Parabon Nanolabs utilized advanced DNA technology to pinpoint Plympton as a probable match to the genetic material recovered from the crime scene. Detectives from the Gresham Police Department, who located Plympton residing in Troutdale, initiated surveillance and obtained a sample of his saliva from a discarded piece of gum, as per prosecutors.
Subsequently, Plympton was taken into custody after the Oregon State Police Crime Lab confirmed that the DNA profile extracted from the gum corresponded to the one derived from swabs collected from Tucker's preserved remains. This breakthrough marks a significant milestone in resolving a decades-old mystery surrounding the tragic demise of Barbara Mae Tucker.
Tucker was expected at a night class at Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham on Jan. 15, 1980. Witnesses said she had been seen running out of a bushy, wooded area on campus and that a man came out of the area and led her back to campus. A student found Tucker's body the next day near a campus parking lot.
The business student had been sexually assaulted and beaten to death, CBS affiliate KOIN-TV reported.
Plympton said he was innocent and that he didn't match the description of a man seen pulling her into the bushes.
He is scheduled to be sentenced in June.
Tucker's family told KOIN-TV in 2021 it was an emotional moment when they received the news that Plympton had been arrested.
"Just not giving up. We always had hope," said Tucker's sister, Susan Pater. "At one point we though he was dead. Maybe it would never be solved. I just wished it could have happened when the rest of my family was here, especially my parents."
Detective Aaron Turnage told them he wouldn't rest until the case was solved.
"I promised her I was going to solve this case. If that means working around the clock, that's what happens," the detective told the station. "There has been lots of hurdles and sitting down and experiencing that with the family last night is something I've never experienced in my career. It's pretty awesome."
