SLAY SUSPECT SEALED HIS OWN FATE WITH DNA

John Athan, a 35 year old New Jersey man charged in a 21 year old rape and murder, mailed cops the evidence they needed to finally nab him.  He received notice of a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of people overcharged on parking tickets and though he might be due some extra cash.  He just had to sign and return the enclosed form if he wanted to take part.  So he did - licking the envelope closed and putting it into the mail.  The letter was part of a ruse by Seattle cops to get a sample of Athan's DNA and connect him to a 21 year old unsolved slaying.  Washington State scientists genetically matched the saliva on the envelope flap to semen taken from the body of 13 year old Kristen Sumstad, who was raped and strangled in 1982.  Athan was 14 at the time of the slaying.

(Seattle, Washington)