Jury selection set to begin in Stone Mountain cold case murder trial

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - Jury selection is scheduled to begin today in DeKalb County in the trial of 55-year-old Kenneth Perry, who is accused of murdering a brother and sister in Stone Mountain more than three decades ago.

Kenneth P. Perry (Credit: Office of the DeKalb County District Attorney)

Perry was indicted in January on multiple charges, including two counts of malice murder, felony murder, rape, aggravated battery, and possession of a knife during the commission of a felony.

What we know:

Investigators say the attack happened on July 15, 1990, at an apartment complex on Tree Hills Parkway. When DeKalb County police arrived, Pamela Sumpter, 43, told officers she had been raped and stabbed, and that her brother, 46-year-old John Sumpter, had also been stabbed and possibly died in their apartment next door.

Pamela Sumpter (Credit: Office of the DeKalb County District Attorney)

PREVIOUS STORY: Man arrested for 1990 double murder, rape in DeKalb County

Pamela was able to give police a description of the suspect before dying from her injuries nearly two weeks later. She told officers her brother had brought a man to their apartment, whom she knew little about, except that he was from Detroit.

John Sumpter (Credit: Office of the DeKalb County District Attorney)

Authorities say DNA evidence and forensic genetic genealogy analysis helped link Perry to the crime. A federal grant helped move the case forward after more than 30 years.