Update: 5:15 p.m. Detectives say they will re-process the evidence and hopefully collect new evidence now that they have a DNA match of the suspect and the murder scene.
The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department has announced an arrest for last year’s murder of eighth-grader, Jessica Funk Haslam. She was found stabbed, beaten and strangled at a Rosemont park.
Ryan Douglas Roberts is 23. His DNA was matched in a federal database this week to evidence found at the scene of the murder.
Sergeant Jim Barnes is head of the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau. He says detectives will interview Roberts’ acquaintances and re-interview possible witnesses.
“There’s still a lot to be learned now that we have a name," says Barnes. "So, we will open the books back up from day one from the beginning portion of the incident and there will be more information gleaned from today’s arrest whether it’s more of the community support and information that we may be able to tie inside the investigation.“
Roberts’ DNA was not in the federal database at the time of the murder. His DNA was entered into the system after he was arrested in May of this year. Charges were not filed in that case.
Ryan Douglas Roberts
Update: 1:44 p.m. - Suspect identified with help of DNA test and DOJ database
Ryan Douglas Roberts, 23, has been arrested in the slaying of Jessica Funk-Haslam. Detectives today said a DNA test had originally tested negative, but a Department of Justice database match yesterday linked Roberts to the case.
DNA collected at the crime scene matched Roberts' DNA, which was collected when Roberts was arrested in May on a domestic violence incident.
Police said they do not know if Roberts acted alone, and there is no known motive or prior relationship with the victim.
Original post:10:57 a.m. - Arrest Made in Murder of Albert Einstein 8th Grader
The girl was found dead at a Rosemont park on March 6, 2012.
The Sacramento County Coroner's Office says she died a violent death.
She was found about two miles from where she lived with her mother.
The Sacramento Sheriff's Department will provide the details of the arrest at a press conference at 1 p.m.
Jessica Funk Haslem
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