A Coffee Cup Helped Solve a 50-Year-Old Murder — Here's How

For 47 years, the brutal murder of 20-year-old Jody Loomis remained a mystery. She had been found barely alive on a remote dirt road near Bothell, Washington, in 1972, the victim of a .22-caliber gunshot wound to the head. Despite efforts to save her, Loomis was pronounced dead at the hospital. The case grew cold, leaving her family without answers — until a discarded coffee cup provided the key investigators had been seeking.

A DNA Breakthrough

In 2018, forensic genealogists working with Washington state law enforcement used advanced DNA technology to analyze a tiny stain on the boots Loomis had been wearing the day she was murdered. The DNA sample, preserved for decades, did not match anyone in the existing criminal databases. However, genetic genealogy — a technique that cross-references DNA with publicly available ancestry records — eventually led authorities to a suspect: 77-year-old Terrence Miller, a retired heavy equipment operator living in Edmonds, Washington.

Detectives began surveilling Miller and obtained his DNA from a coffee cup he had discarded at a casino. The results were a match. In 2019, Miller was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.

Trial and Suicide

Miller maintained his innocence throughout the trial, with his defense arguing that the DNA evidence was flawed. His lawyer claimed that forensic scientists had mishandled the evidence, calling into question the legitimacy of the results. Still, the prosecution presented a compelling case, detailing how Miller's DNA was the only match to the sample found on Loomis' boot.

As the trial neared its conclusion, Miller, who had been free on a $1 million bond, became increasingly anxious. On the morning of Nov. 9, 2020, just hours before the jury returned a guilty verdict, Miller was found dead at his home in an apparent suicide. The jury, unaware of his death, convicted him of first-degree murder later that afternoon.

The Family's Response

For Loomis's family, the guilty verdict brought some sense of justice, even as Miller's suicide left many unanswered questions. As reported by the Washington Post, Prosecutor Craig Matheson said, "I think we should put this to bed properly." The Loomis family was "stoic" in their reaction to the news of Miller's death, CNN reports.

The Power of Genetic Genealogy

The use of genetic genealogy in criminal investigations has revolutionized cold case resolutions. The same method has led to arrests in numerous other decades-old cases, including the infamous Golden State Killer. Critics, however, argue that such investigations raise ethical and privacy concerns.

While the verdict may have brought some closure, Miller's suicide leaves lingering questions about what truly happened in 1972. For investigators and Loomis' family, however, DNA provided the answer they had sought for nearly half a century.

References: A Coffee Cup Tied Him to a 1972 Murder. He Killed Himself Hours Before He Was Convicted | Suspect in 1972 Cold Case Killing Died by Suicide Shortly Before He Was Convicted, Officials Say