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61-year-old man convicted for 1998 murder of woman

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A 61-year-old Indianapolis man was found guilty Thursday of murder and rape in a 1998 case in which detectives in 2015 had discovered a DNA link. 

On Nov. 5, 1998, police detectives found the partially burned body of Kenya Edwards, 26, inside a home that had been on fire in the 3800 block of North Tacoma Avenue. That’s just east of North Keystone Avenue. 

Edwards’ wrists and legs had been bound with electrical cords. Police found evidence of a struggle in the home and a broken window in the rear of the residence. An autopsy determined Edwards’ cause of death was from thermal burns and smoke inhalation. 

Detectives working the case were unable to link anyone to the crime until DNA evidence was retested in 2009. In February 2015, detectives were notified of a match to Johnny Jones, who was already behind bars in the Indiana Department of Correction for an unrelated 2014 conviction of unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon. 

RELATED: Retested DNA helps solve 1998 Indianapolis cold case

Jones’ sentencing hearing was set for 10 a.m. April 26 in Marion Superior Court, Criminal Division 2.

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