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In late September of 1981 23-year-old Laura Kempton’s body was discovered in her Portsmouth, New Hampshire apartment by police. Laura had last been seen alive in the early morning hours before her murder, entering her apartment alone after a night out with a friend. Over the next four decades, investigators pursued hundreds of leads and potential suspects, but were unable to identify the perpetrator.  That was until 2022, when the Portsmouth Police Department, working in conjunction with the New Hampshire State Police Forensic Laboratory, the Maine State Police Forensic Laboratory, the Attorney General's Cold Case Unit, and Identifinders International, used forensic genetic genealogy to identify the perpetrator through analysis of numerous DNA samples recovered from the crime scene in 1981. However, Laura Kempton’s killer would not be arrested and charged with her murder as investigators learned he was already deceased.  So why was Laura killed and was the sinister mind behind her death responsible for another Portsmouth unsolved homicide.
References:
Anatomy of a cold case, solved: How Portsmouth police tracked down Laura Kempton’s killer | Manchester Ink Link

A New Hampshire beauty school student was found dead in 1981. Her killer has finally been identified. - CBS News

Decades-old New Hampshire cold case murder solved through genetic genealogy, officials say - ABC News (go.com)

Laura Kempton death: Suspect identified in 1981 killing with help of genetic genealogy, attorney general says | CNN

Laura Kempton and Tammy Little: Portsmouth, NH Murders — Murder, She Told: Maine & New England True Crime (murdershetold.com)

Portsmouth NH 1981 murder of Laura Kempton 'solved," AG says (seacoastonline.com)

Cold case solved: Police identify deceased suspect in 1981 murder of Laura Kempton in Portsmouth, N.H. - The Boston Globe

Laura Kempton's cold case murder in Portsmouth NH solved with genetic genealogy, AG says - CBS Boston (cbsnews.com) 

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