Pamela Lynn Conyers: Maryland girl's murder mystery solved after 52 years, suspect identified
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND: More than a half-century after Maryland high school student Pamela Conyers was murdered following her disappearance from a local shopping mall, law enforcement officials announced on Friday, March 10, 2023, that they finally solved the cold case.
Pamela Lynn Conyers’ parents reported her missing on October 16, 1970, after the 16-year-old did not return home from the mall that evening. Before her disappearance, Conyers also attended a high school pep rally and then drove to the mall. Four days later, her body was found strangled in a wooded area in Maryland’s Anne Arundel County. The family car she had been driving was found nearby a day earlier.
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More than 50 years later, the FBI and local police said they have found a suspect using the DNA gathered from the crime scene decades ago and investigative genetic genealogy to compare it with DNA available on public sites.
Who was the suspect?
The suspect was identified as Forrest Clyde Williams III, who was 21 at the time Conyers was killed, but he died in 2018 due to natural causes. "If he were still alive, he would have been charged with the murder of Pamela Conyers," Anne Arundel County Police Chief Amal Awad said during a Friday news conference.
Williams does not have a history of committing any serious crimes. He only had a sparse criminal record, including an arrest for drunk and disorderly conduct and a fine for fishing without a license.
Genetic Genealogy
"We are pleased to deliver a measure of justice for Pamela Conyers and her loved ones," said FBI agent Tom Sobocinski. "Cases may grow cold, investigators may change, but this proves that for law enforcement, victims are never forgotten."
"Detectives used DNA analysis and a process called investigative genetic genealogy, both of which didn’t exist when Conyers was killed in 1970," said Sobocinski.
Sobocinski then explained the investigation, "When investigators collected evidence from the 1970 crime scene, they had no idea how it might later be used. But cold case detectives recently developed a DNA profile that they compared to the information available in publicly accessible genealogical databases." This helps them identify potential relatives of the suspect, create a family tree, and ultimately pinpoint Williams. But, he declined to specify which relatives led them to Williams or describe the process in detail.
There was no evidence to suggest Conyers knew her accused killer, Anne Arundel County police officials said. They also said they haven’t ruled out the possibility that another suspect was involved, meaning the case is not yet considered closed.