Man arrested for 1990 double murder, rape in DeKalb County

An arrest has been made in a 1990 sexual assault and double homicide case out of DeKalb County, Georgia. 55-year-old Kenneth Perry faces multiple charges in connection to the murder of siblings Pamela and John Sumpter. Nearly 34 years after the attack, a federal grant “Prosecuting Cold Cases Using DNA” helped investigators move the case forward. In February 2024, Dekalb County District Attorney’s Office worked with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to upload the DNA profile of this case to the national database and within days, got a match to a sexual assault case in Detroit, Michigan. This match, combined with Forensic Genetic Genealogy analysis led investigators to Perry. When Perry was taken into custody, investigators collected a DNA sample which they believe will confirm that he was the perpetrator.