A breakthrough in DNA testing connects one man to two killings more than 30 years later
Credit: Camden County
NEED TO KNOW
- DNA evidence has identified Francis T. Schooley as the suspect in the 1993 and 1994 killings of Marebeth Welsh and Jennifer Persia, prosecutors said
- Investigators linked the cases decades later using advances in DNA testing and genetic genealogy
- Authorities say Schooley, who died in 2000, would have been charged in both murders if he were still alive
More than three decades after two cold case murders shocked a New Jersey community, authorities say DNA evidence has led to the identification of a suspect.
The Camden County Prosecutor’s Office announced that Francis T. Schooley, a Mantua Township, N.J., man who died in 2000 at age 39, has been identified as the suspect in the murders of Marebeth Welsh, 24, in 1993 and Jennifer Persia, 16, in 1994.
“Thanks to remarkable advances in DNA technology and diligent detective work, we have finally been able to bring answers to two families who have waited decades for justice,” Camden County Prosecutor Grace C. MacAulay said in a statement.
According to authorities, Welsh was found on Nov. 14, 1993, lying on a sidewalk in Camden, N.J. She was later pronounced dead, and a medical examiner determined her cause of death to be strangulation. Investigators also found evidence of sexual assault.
Credit: Camden County
Months later, on April 4, 1994, officers in Magnolia, N.J., responded to a call about an unconscious teenage girl. They found Persia inside a home with multiple stab wounds and a ligature around her neck. She was later pronounced dead, and her death was ruled a homicide.
At the time, investigators collected DNA evidence in both cases, but no match was identified.
Years later, new forensic testing led to a breakthrough. Authorities said DNA recovered from Welsh’s clothing was found to match an unknown male DNA profile collected from blood at the scene of Persia’s killing.
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The cases were further advanced through investigative genetic genealogy, which allowed detectives to identify possible relatives of the unknown suspect. After additional testing and interviews with family members, investigators determined that Schooley was the source of the DNA found in both cases.
According to prosecutors, Schooley had connections to Persia’s family, including performing construction work at her stepfather’s home and a business associated with him. A relative also told investigators they had seen Schooley with Welsh in the past.
Since Schooley died in 2000, he cannot be charged. However, authorities said there is sufficient probable cause that he would have been charged in both killings if he were still alive.
Credit: Camden County
“These cases never left the minds of our investigators, even as the years passed,” MacAulay said, praising the detectives involved.
Officials said the renewed progress was made possible in part by a dedicated Homicide Cold Case Unit established in 2024 to focus on cases that could benefit from advances in DNA testing.
“Our hearts are with her family, and while the results of this investigation cannot bring her back, we hope it offers them a measure of peace,” Magnolia Police Chief John Huston said of Persia.
He added that the case has had a lasting impact on the Magnolia community, where a gazebo in Albertson Park now stands in Persia’s memory.
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