Man arrested for 1990 double murder, rape in DeKalb County

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - An arrest has been made in a decades-old sexual assault and double homicide case out of DeKalb County.

55-year-old Kenneth Perry faces multiple charges in connection to the murder of siblings Pamela and John Sumpter.

James Sumpter, brother of the victims, says the development is finally bringing closure to his family.

"It’s been over 30 years since this horrible tragedy happened to my brother and sister," said Sumpter.

Investigators say the attack happened on July 15, 1990 at an apartment complex on Tree Hills Parkway in Stone Mountain. Investigators say when DKPD arrived, Pamela Sumpter, 43, told police she was raped and stabbed. She told officers her brother John Sumpter, 46, had been stabbed as well and possibly died in their apartment next door.

Perry is currently behind bars and awaiting trial. A DeKalb County Grand Jury indicted him on charges of malice murder (2 counts), felony murder (2 counts), rape, aggravated assault (4 counts), aggravated battery (2 counts), possession of a knife during the commission of a felony (2 counts), and theft by taking.

Dekalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston says Pamela was able to speak with police before she died at the hospital from her injuries about 2 weeks after the attack.

"She told investigators that her brother brought a man over to the apartment. She knew very little about this new acquaintance but was able to give police a detailed description, including that he was from Detroit, Michigan."

Nearly 34 years later, Boston says a federal grant helped investigators move the case forward.

"In February of this year, we worked with the GBI to upload the DNA profile of this case to the national database and within days, we got a match to a sexual assault case in Detroit, Michigan," Boston said.

Boston says that match combined with Forensic Genetic Genealogy (FGG) analysis led investigators to Perry. When Perry was taken into custody, investigators collected a DNA sample which they believe confirmed that he was the perpetrator.

It's a long-awaited break that James says he’s extremely grateful for.

"We can face the future with hope. Challenging times are coming. Whatever suffering we must go to, whatever hardship we must endure, whatever sorrows, if we have hope, a better day is coming," said Perry.

The district attorney’s office received the federal "Prosecuting Cold Cases Using DNA" in October. It is for $500,000, plus an additional $33,320, to be used for over three years beginning in October 2023. The grant is being used to fund a part-time cold case investigator and to pay for private DNA testing with Othram.

Agencies that attended Wednesday's press conference included DeKalb County Sheriff's Office Fugitive Unit, DeKalb County Police Department, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Georgia Criminal Justice Coordinating Council and Othram.