DNA Could Solve Cold Case, Lead To Third Strike

A single strand of hair could solve a three-year-old bank robbery case and send the suspect to prison for life.

After a Spokane Wells Fargo Bank was robbed in 2003, police found clothing in a nearby alley and sent it to the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab for analysis. In October, forensic scientists extracted DNA from a hair in a knit cap and matched the genetic material to Keith Birch, who already was serving time for bank robbery at the Airway Heights Correction Center.

If he's convicted of this latest robbery charge, Birch could face life in prison without the possibility of parole under the three-strikes-you're-out sentencing law.