Man linked to '87 slaying by DNA 'cold hit' pleads no contest

By the Associated Press

ROANOKE, Va. -- A man who was linked to a 19-year-old slaying by a DNA "cold hit" pleaded no contest to first-degree murder.

Thomas Lee Crowder Jr., 46, could be sentenced to life in prison for the fatal stabbing of Bertha Sommardahl, 87, in her apartment. His sentencing was scheduled for June 5.

The case was cold until December, when Crowder was linked to the killing by a DNA hit. The DNA swab was taken from him when he was convicted on cocaine-related charges last year in Roanoke County.

Virginia law requires that law enforcement agencies collect DNA samples from convicted felons.

The link to the slaying was a bloody handprint found on Sommardahl's windowsill. Crowder subsequently confessed to police, prosecutors said.

The state lab puts the odds of the DNA found on Sommardahl's body belonging to anyone other than Crowder at 6 billion to 1. Still, Crowder's family said they couldn't believe he had a role in the slaying.

"I listened to everything that was said. That's not my son. I know it's not," his mother, Gracie Crowder, said after the court appearance Wednesday. "I'm not saying he's a perfect person but I know he won't hurt someone."

Under a no-contest plea, a defendant gives up his right to appeal. While Crowder did not admit guilt, he declined to contest the evidence against him.

A cold hit occurs when crime-scene evidence such as blood or hair matches DNA registered in the state's DNA databank, which is the largest in the nation with samples from more than 216,000 felons. The databank has gotten more than 3,100 cold hits since it began collecting DNA samples from convicted felons in 1989.