Coolguy

Joint Used To Link Man To 17-Year-Old Murder Case
NBCSandiego.com | 08/08/2005

SAN DIEGO -- A half-smoked marijuana cigarette was used to link a man to the slaying of a San Diego woman 17 years ago, NBC 7/39 reported Monday.

Mark Elder, 47, was arrested in Florida Friday after a police officer noticed that Elder matched a description sent out on a nationwide alert. The alert was issued after DNA from the 1988 San Diego murder case was matched to two rape cases in Florida.

Saliva from Elder's joint was tested at a lab in San Diego. It matched DNA found at the scene the apartment where Janet Moore, 27, was killed in 1988. Police said the case is an example of smart police work combined with 21st-century technology.

"We'll probably see an increase in the number of cold cases," said Lt. Mike Hurley, of the San Diego Police Department. "As the number of DNA profiles that are put in every year increases, we expect to see even more matches to unsolved cases."

San Diego authorities are in Florida trying to arrange the extradition of Elder to face charges.

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