Investigators say crime lab improvements led to man’s arrest in GA cold

A 63-year-old man has been arrested in Alabama in the 2000 murder of a northwest Georgia woman.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Walker County Sheriff’s Office announced on Friday that they have charged Clarence D. George with murder and aggravated assault in the June 2000 death of Julie Ann McDonald.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

McDonald, a pharmacist, was found stabbed to death in her home in LaFayette, Georgia, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) south of Chattanooga.

In a Friday news conference, officials said a combination of better crime lab technology and traditional police work had allowed them to conclude that George had killed McDonald.

Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson said George was arrested in Birmingham on Aug. 22 and awaits extradition to Georgia. George was not listed in Jefferson County jail records on Monday and it’s unclear if he has a lawyer to speak for him.

George was initially identified as one of four or five suspects in the case, said GBI Special Agent in Charge Joe Montgomery, in part because George was found with McDonald’s checkbook in neighboring Catoosa County.

“It was not a stranger crime,” Wilson said. “They knew each other.”

RELATED STORIES:

Montgomery declined to discuss what motive George may have had for killing McDonald.

The agencies said the case was reinvestigated in 2015-2016, but tests on evidence could not then identify a suspect. The case was reviewed again over the last two years, with Montgomery saying lab testing linked evidence to George.

“It’s getting better every day,” Montgomery said of technology. “It gives us hope for some of the other cases that we couldn’t solve, 20 or 30 years ago, we have that ability now.”

Wilson said McDonald’s nearest surviving relatives are a niece and a nephew, who have been notified of the arrest.

“We’ve been working on this case — it’s 24 years old and we never give up on these cold cases,” he said.

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]

Marquis Deshaun Lawson's body was found off Wheeler Road in Gray, Georgia in 2013. Investigators believe he was hit by a truck. — Marquis Deshaun Lawson’s body was found off Wheeler Road in Gray, Georgia in 2013. Investigators believe he was hit by a truck.

Sandra Latrail Robinson, 32, was discovered stabbed to death inside the Prepaid Superstore in Coffee County in 2010. The GBI believes she was killed while the store was open. She was the mother of four.

Christopher Yarbrough, 19, was shot to death in a club parking lot in Appling County in 2009. Two other people were injured but survived.

Doris Worrell, 39, was found shot to death at Jon's Sport Park in Douglas in 2006. Her husband, the park's manager, told investigators that she stayed at the business after he left to run errands. She was dead when he got back. — Doris Worrell, 39, was found shot to death at Jon’s Sport Park in Douglas in 2006. Her husband, the park’s manager, told investigators that she stayed at the business after he left to run errands. She was dead when he got back.

Arlene Ivey, 78, was killed in Thomaston in 2005.

Odilon Cabrera-Depaz was shot to death in Athens in 2007.

William (Bill) Francis Greenwood, 48, was shot outside his home in Long County in 2008. Investigators believe he owed a debt, which may have led to his death.

Anita Redmon was shot to death as she worked as a gate attendant at Stone Mountain Park in 2005.

Scott Arturo Castillo was found murdered outside his residence in Lincoln County in 2004. He'd been shot multiple times. — Scott Arturo Castillo was found murdered outside his residence in Lincoln County in 2004. He’d been shot multiple times.

Kelvin McDuffie's body was found in Athens-Clarke County in 2003. — Kelvin McDuffie’s body was found in Athens-Clarke County in 2003.

Tamekia Jamell Taylor was found stabbed to death at her home in Lithonia in 2002. She worked as a mortgage banker at Chase Bank.

Christine Reynolds, 48, was discovered dead in a lake in Morrow in 2002. Detectives were able to identify her four years later as Reynolds. Allen was a file clerk for an Atlanta law firm who was reported missing to Decatur Police by her roommate on April 19, 2002.

The body of Laneshia Crowder, 21, was found in her Carrollton home in 2000. Her young son was found suffering from head trauma but survived. Her daughter was not harmed.

The body of Patricia A. Hanlon, 53, was discovered in her apartment's bedroom in 2000. Investigators said she had been brutally murdered and that she had been dead for awhile before she was found. — The body of Patricia A. Hanlon, 53, was discovered in her apartment’s bedroom in 2000. Investigators said she had been brutally murdered and that she had been dead for awhile before she was found.

John McKinnon, 67, left his home in his taxi cab to pick up a passenger in 1998. His body was found in a ditch in Coffee County. He had been robbed. Investigators determined he had been shot.

<p>A copy of a photo of 11-year-old Levi Frady in 1997. He was killed soon after this school photo was taken. </p>
<p>” data-src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/OmaMWKUdA2yji0KUyMMGPA–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTU0MA–/https://media.zenfs.com/en/wsb_cox_articles_232/a75228c5ab5c57f31f48d836ec165ce2″><noscript><img alt= — A copy of a photo of 11-year-old Levi Frady in 1997. He was killed soon after this school photo was taken.

EMEA Tribune is not involved in this news article, it is taken from our partners and or from the News Agencies. Copyright and Credit go to the News Agencies, email news@emeatribune.com Follow our WhatsApp verified Channel