Police link murder suspect to Tucker cold cases using DNA
DNA from fatal stabbing cracks 3 DeKalb County cold cases
DeKalb County District Attorney investigators linked 45-year-old Jamal Taliaferro to three cold cases using DNA from a July fatal stabbing probe. Authorities say the cases include two Tucker sexual assaults and a 2024 kidnapping.
DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - A July homicide arrest on Evelyn Street provided the critical DNA evidence investigators needed to solve a decade-long series of sexual assaults and a kidnapping in Tucker, authorities announced Tuesday.
Evelyn Street homicide sparks break in cases
What we know:
On July 3, DeKalb Police responded to the fatal stabbing of 30-year-old Kenyon Jeffries on Evelyn Street. Investigators followed a blood trail across the street to a vacant property where they found 45-year-old Jamal Toliaferro with knife wounds. He was charged with malice murder and held without bond, according to prosecutors.
Detectives noticed Toliaferro matched descriptions of the serial attacker, noting his use of cutting weapons, how he bound his victims and his ties to the Evelyn Street area.
Search warrants for Toliaferro's DNA directly matched him to all three cold cases, the district attorney's office said.
Timeline of attacks
Timeline:
Prosecutors said the crimes began on Dec. 24, 2014, when a masked man bound and sexually assaulted a 54-year-old woman in her garage on Evelyn Street before she was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital.
On Jan. 30, 2019, a masked attacker armed with a knife bound and sexually assaulted a 35-year-old woman at an apartment complex on Northlake Parkway, according to the district attorney's office. The victim bit her attacker's hand, leaving a blood sample at the scene that state scientists later matched to the 2014 DNA profile.
In March 2024, prosecutors said a masked man armed with a box cutter forced a 67-year-old woman into her car, bound her, and burned her with a lighter while attempting to use her bank cards at ATMs. The victim escaped to DeKalb County Fire Station 22 on Montreal Road, where officers recovered a drawstring bag left in the vehicle.
In September 2025, state forensic teams matched the DNA from the bag to the earlier assaults.
Using federal grant funding, private lab partner Othram built a genetic profile in January that led to a suspect search, the DA's office said.
This map shows the locations of crimes allegedly committed by Jamal Toliaferro over the years.
District attorney highlights DNA evidence
What they're saying:
DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston highlighted the importance of recovering DNA evidence from the scene.
"Investigators recovered that blood from the scene and the GBI developed a DNA profile from that sample which they then entered into CODIS," Boston said.
Boston also emphasized the long-lasting psychological toll on survivors while cases remain unsolved.
"Imagine walking around for decades, and you've been a victim of a crime like this and because that person hasn't been identified, you have no idea if they are coming back," Boston said.
What we don't know:
Investigators do not know if there are other victims tied to the suspect.
Search for additional victims
What you can do:
The DeKalb County Cold Case Task Force urges anyone with information about Toliaferro to contact the district attorney's office tip line at 404-371-2444.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from the DeKalb County District Attorney's Office, who announced the arrest warrants and details of the investigation.