DNA led police to charges in suspected serial killings, rape

Lexington police this afternoon hailed DNA matching for helping them identify a man who they say is responsible for the brutal killings of three women and the rape of another.

Robert Franklin Smallwood Jr., 32, is charged with crimes spanning 13 years and linked by DNA.

The victims — Doris Ann Roberts, Sonora Lynn Allen and Erica C. Butler — were killed over a span of seven years, beginning with Roberts in 1999. Butler was slain in April.

Police also announced that DNA linked Smallwood to the 1993 rape of Viola J. Greene, 83, a retired schoolteacher, who died in 1998 of natural causes.

DNA found on the bodies or at the crime scenes connected Smallwood to the crimes, authorities said.

Smallwood is in a LaGrange state prison after violating probation this summer for a drug conviction.

The sister of one of the victims said she thought all the victims’ families would be relieved by the news.

“I hope he’s the right one, and I hope he gets what he deserves,” said Delsie Jenkins, Roberts’ youngest sister.

The suspect’s wife, Neisha Smallwood, said she was separated from him and no longer spoke with him. She declined to comment further.

Ari Lane said she grew up with Smallwood and had known him for years.

“It’s crazy. Somebody you never suspect would do something like that. The kind of person he is, you never think he’d start killing people,” Lane said.