Joseph Michael Simpson

Background Information on Offender & Victim

The offender is Joseph Michael Simpson (Reavy & Romero, 2013). According to Miller (2013), Simpson lived in Clearwater. There was a red flag that he might be capable of murder because he had been previously arrested for murder on August 9, 1987. Simpson was arrested for stabbing 26-year-old police informant Paul J. Helminger. Simpson stabbed Helminger 13 times and Helminger was found lying face down outside of his apartment at 103 E. Center St. in Clearfield with a butcher knife found in his right shoulder. Simpson claimed he had killed Helminger in self-defense, however, neighbors say they saw Simpson chasing Helminger swinging a knife as the victim cried for help. Simpson was charged with a second-degree

There were several large granite rocks at the crime scene which were covered in blood and were believed to be the murder weapon. However, the investigators were unable to solve the case and it soon became a cold case. “The investigation took place for two years and eventually ran dry," Wasatch County Sheriff Todd Bonner said of the case (Kennedy, 2013). In 2006, the case was reopened due to new technology at the state crime lab and Sorenson Forensics (Reavy & Romero, 2013). Sorenson is a Salt Lake City based forensics group (The Associated Press, September 21, 2013). This new technology made it possible to examine the DNA evidence from the granite rocks and from under Beslanowitch’s fingernails (Reavy & Romero, 2013). The case continued to slowly progress forward and in 2008 two full time detectives were assigned to the case. Also in 2008, unified police were brought on board, and forensic technology improvements meant more DNA was extracted off the rocks near where her body was found (Reavy & Romero, 2013). In 2011, DNA samples from Beslanowitch’s body including a sperm sample were tested, but the match to Simpson’s DNA was not returned until January 2013 (Miller,

As stated by the Associated Press (September 21, 2013), "In forensics, that's fairly new technology," said Cami Green, once a DNA analyst and now a sales manager for Sorenson Forensics. "It is the most sensitive collection method we have at our disposal." According to Augenstein (2016), in the 1990s swabbing of the rock believed to be the murder weapon had been unable to yield anything from the side where the killer had held the stone, opposite of the blood stains. But when the M-Vac was used on it in 2013 it pulled 21 nanograms of genetic material which is much more than the 0.5 nanograms needed for a full DNA profile. From this DNA two contributors were identified, one a major and one a minor contributor. In January, this major contributor produced a hit on CODIS and lead to 49-year-old Simpson who at the time was living in Florida. “The main reason we found the murderer and he was convicted was the DNA technology available in the M-Vac system,” said the sheriff. “If we didn’t have the M-Vac and those forward-thinking enough to work with the M-Vac, I don’t know if we would have ever solved this case.” He also states “We scoured the crime scene, the river banks, and the nearby highway for miles to gather as much evidence as possible. Over the years we interviewed hundreds of