DNA leads to 65-year murder sentence

A man connected with a murder through DNA matching was sentenced this afternoon to 65 years in prison.

A Marion Superior Court jury convicted Randy Johnson, 44, of murder earlier this month.

He was arrested in the death of Melissa Handlon, 22, whose body was found stabbed several times inside her apartment in July 2003 in the 1600 block of South Villa Avenue.

Investigators compared DNA evidence with samples in a state database of DNA collected from convicted felons, and Johnson came up a match.

Handlon's father, Gary, and two other family members asked for the maximum sentence, 65 years. "One day you are going to have to tell my daughter why you did this," Gary Handlon said. "You will never hurt anyone again."

Judge Robert Altice Jr. praised Handlon's family for sitting through the trial. Johnson maintained his innocence and said he would appeal.