Jennifer Odom's Murder Possibly Solved - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

RobinW · 04-28-2017, 10:04 AM

You might recall the Nancy Myer psychic segment where she looks into the murder of a 12-year old girl named Jennifer Odom. Well, this case might be on the verge of being solved:
http://www.wtsp.com/news/crime/unsol...rder/434473872

It's pretty remarkable, as it seems this case may be solved through familial DNA. They got a match when a suspect named Jeffrey Norman Crum II was recently convicted of armed robbery and had his DNA entered into the system. It matched DNA evidence from the rape and violent attack of another young girl in 1992. Since Crum Jr. was too young to have committed the crime back then, it seems very likely that his father, Jeffrey Norman Crum Sr., was the perpetrator. Since the 1992 attack is so similar to Jennifer's murder and occurred in the same area, there's a very good chance Crum Sr. committed both crimes and they're trying to verify it now.

Todd Mueller · 04-28-2017, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobinW

You might recall the Nancy Myer psychic segment where she looks into the murder of a 12-year old girl named Jennifer Odom. Well, this case might be on the verge of being solved:
http://www.wtsp.com/news/crime/unsol...rder/434473872

It's pretty remarkable, as it seems this case may be solved through familial DNA. They got a match when a suspect named Jeffrey Norman Crum II was recently convicted of armed robbery and had his DNA entered into the system. It matched DNA evidence from the rape and violent attack of another young girl in 1992. Since Crum Jr. was too young to have committed the crime back then, it seems very likely that his father, Jeffrey Norman Crum Sr., was the perpetrator. Since the 1992 attack is so similar to Jennifer's murder and occurred in the same area, there's a very good chance Crum Sr. committed both crimes and they're trying to verify it now.

Wow! This is surprising and fascinating. Thanks very much for the update, RobinW!

TheCars1986 · 04-28-2017, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobinW

It's pretty remarkable, as it seems this case may be solved through familial DNA. They got a match when a suspect named Jeffrey Norman Crum II was recently convicted of armed robbery and had his DNA entered into the system. It matched DNA evidence from the rape and violent attack of another young girl in 1992. Since Crum Jr. was too young to have committed the crime back then, it seems very likely that his father, Jeffrey Norman Crum Sr., was the perpetrator. Since the 1992 attack is so similar to Jennifer's murder and occurred in the same area, there's a very good chance Crum Sr. committed both crimes and they're trying to verify it now.

I don't want to sound like a Debbie Downer here, but I saw a 48 Hours special on a DNA "match" involving familial DNA which hit on an independent filmmaker who the police looked at in a late 90's murder, but eventually cleared him. The DNA matched his father 34 out of 35 alleles, and then the police suspected the dad, but the father had never been to that state the murder occurred in in his entire life. Ultimately the DNA evidence was useless and the case remains unsolved.

RobinW · 04-28-2017, 03:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheCars1986

I don't want to sound like a Debbie Downer here, but I saw a 48 Hours special on a DNA "match" involving familial DNA which hit on an independent filmmaker who the police looked at in a late 90's murder, but eventually cleared him. The DNA matched his father 34 out of 35 alleles, and then the police suspected the dad, but the father had never been to that state the murder occurred in in his entire life. Ultimately the DNA evidence was useless and the case remains unsolved.

Well, the good news is that there's other evidence from the Odom case which should help them conclusively determine if Crum killed her or not. I haven't seen this segment in awhile, but I revisited the UM page and it mentioned how they found Jennifer's clarinet case and book bag two years after the murder. They had unidentified fingerprints on them, but at the time, they couldn't find a suspect to match them to. But if they match Crum, he's probably the guy.

I do hope Crum's the guy and they can close this case, but if he's not, at least they'll be able to rule him out quickly and move on.

TheCars1986 · 04-28-2017, 03:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobinW

Well, the good news is that there's other evidence from the Odom case which should help them conclusively determine if Crum killed her or not. I haven't seen this segment in awhile, but I revisited the UM page and it mentioned how they found Jennifer's clarinet case and book bag two years after the murder. They had unidentified fingerprints on them, but at the time, they couldn't find a suspect to match them to. But if they match Crum, he's probably the guy.

I do hope Crum's the guy and they can close this case, but if he's not, at least they'll be able to rule him out quickly and move on.

Crum definitely sounds like the guy, I just hope they don't try to raise doubt over familial DNA matching like they did in the 48 Hours episode. The entire show was framed in a way to cast suspicion on finding matches through familial DNA. But that case involved very different circumstances. Crum, being in Florida, with 2 different (but very similar) cases that had hits with his DNA makes this much stronger.

Hot Jock · 04-28-2017, 04:40 PM

Fantastic news.

I've been pretty excited about the prospect of familial DNA being used as an investigative tool ever since I first heard about it several years ago. I feel like once familial DNA technology is around for a long enough period of time and investigators have enough experience with it, we will see some older cold cases being solved via that method. As this technology advances, who knows how many generations removed could provide at least a partial match? I've been thinking for a long time about how familial DNA might be the only way to identify certain offenders, the main one being EAR ONS. Even if it's 100 years from now and it's his great-great-great-grandson's DNA that hits, it would solve the puzzle. This could be a huge breakthrough in forensics.

1990 UM fan · 04-28-2017, 05:00 PM

Here's composites of the suspects that Nancy Myer had drawn up by police. The one on the left resembles Crum Sr in a way.

LooksLikeCRicci · 04-28-2017, 06:47 PM

The developments on this story are certainly fascinating. I hope the family gets answers.

I understand the skepticism vocalized by Cars, yet I also share Hot Jock's enthusiasm for what this type of DNA testing can do for investigations. Obviously, I'd like to make sure it's an accurate form of testing, but it sounds like this case may be a good test case for it, especially if the suspect's fingerprints are the ones located on Jennifer's clarinet case.

Off-topic: Anyone remember what the psychic said happened to Jennifer? I am positive I have seen this segment, but tuned out her thoughts...

1990 UM fan · 04-28-2017, 10:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LooksLikeCRicci

Off-topic: Anyone remember what the psychic said happened to Jennifer? I am positive I have seen this segment, but tuned out her thoughts...

She said that a leather strap was used to subdue/strangle Jennifer. That's one part I know off the top of my head.

RobinW · 05-01-2017, 06:02 PM

More news: it looks like a witness has come forward who believes that a man matching Crum's description nearly abducted her around the time Jennifer was murdered. It's seeming more and more likely that Crum is the guy:
http://www.rnrfonline.com/local-woma...pected-killer/

TheCars1986 · 04-15-2019, 07:49 PM

Has there ever been an update to this?

Labonte18 · 04-16-2019, 02:13 PM

I found articles about the case from 2018 that make no reference to Crum, though I can find nothing further about the outcome of testing items tied to him.

I also cannot find any reference to Crum in the Florida DOC or anything about a trial for him on the case of the 17 year old that he was tied to.

Could mean it hasn't come to trial yet, but.. 4 years.. Not unheard of, but you'd think it would have gone to trial by now.

Fletch · 04-16-2019, 05:19 PM

LE/Prosecution is likely building a case... it takes time. I would be shocked if he's not in custody during the lull.

James T · 04-17-2019, 01:56 AM

If only Nancy Myer could have come up with the name of the killer.

TheCars1986 · 04-17-2019, 08:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by James T

If only Nancy Myer could have come up with the name of the killer.

She also said that it was 2 people involved with abducting Jennifer. If it's Crum, she got that wrong.

04-28-2017, 10:04 AM	#1
RobinW Member Senior Member Join Date: Jul 14, 2010 Posts: 1,874	Jennifer Odom's Murder Possibly Solved You might recall the Nancy Myer psychic segment where she looks into the murder of a 12-year old girl named Jennifer Odom. Well, this case might be on the verge of being solved: http://www.wtsp.com/news/crime/unsol...rder/434473872 It's pretty remarkable, as it seems this case may be solved through familial DNA. They got a match when a suspect named Jeffrey Norman Crum II was recently convicted of armed robbery and had his DNA entered into the system. It matched DNA evidence from the rape and violent attack of another young girl in 1992. Since Crum Jr. was too young to have committed the crime back then, it seems very likely that his father, Jeffrey Norman Crum Sr., was the perpetrator. Since the 1992 attack is so similar to Jennifer's murder and occurred in the same area, there's a very good chance Crum Sr. committed both crimes and they're trying to verify it now.
	Last edited by RobinW; 04-28-2017 at 11:30 AM.

04-28-2017, 05:00 PM	#7
1990 UM fan Unsolved Mysteries fanatic Senior Member Join Date: Jul 14, 2011 Location: United States Posts: 2,510	Here's composites of the suspects that Nancy Myer had drawn up by police. The one on the left resembles Crum Sr in a way.
	__________________ Join my Unsolved Mysteries page (Facebook): http://www.facebook.com/pages/Unsolv...899616?sk=wall

04-28-2017, 04:40 PM	#6
Hot Jock Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Dec 09, 2016 Posts: 493	Fantastic news. I've been pretty excited about the prospect of familial DNA being used as an investigative tool ever since I first heard about it several years ago. I feel like once familial DNA technology is around for a long enough period of time and investigators have enough experience with it, we will see some older cold cases being solved via that method. As this technology advances, who knows how many generations removed could provide at least a partial match? I've been thinking for a long time about how familial DNA might be the only way to identify certain offenders, the main one being EAR ONS. Even if it's 100 years from now and it's his great-great-great-grandson's DNA that hits, it would solve the puzzle. This could be a huge breakthrough in forensics.

04-28-2017, 06:47 PM	#8
LooksLikeCRicci Likes to live in a clean house Moderator Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Nov 27, 2005 Posts: 4,050	The developments on this story are certainly fascinating. I hope the family gets answers. I understand the skepticism vocalized by Cars, yet I also share Hot Jock's enthusiasm for what this type of DNA testing can do for investigations. Obviously, I'd like to make sure it's an accurate form of testing, but it sounds like this case may be a good test case for it, especially if the suspect's fingerprints are the ones located on Jennifer's clarinet case. Off-topic: Anyone remember what the psychic said happened to Jennifer? I am positive I have seen this segment, but tuned out her thoughts...

05-01-2017, 06:02 PM	#10
RobinW Member Senior Member Join Date: Jul 14, 2010 Posts: 1,874	More news: it looks like a witness has come forward who believes that a man matching Crum's description nearly abducted her around the time Jennifer was murdered. It's seeming more and more likely that Crum is the guy: http://www.rnrfonline.com/local-woma...pected-killer/

04-15-2019, 07:49 PM	#11
TheCars1986 #VLSKMS Forum Fanatic Join Date: Nov 22, 2008 Location: Maryland Posts: 8,614	Has there ever been an update to this?

04-16-2019, 02:13 PM	#12
Labonte18 Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jun 28, 2018 Posts: 902	I found articles about the case from 2018 that make no reference to Crum, though I can find nothing further about the outcome of testing items tied to him. I also cannot find any reference to Crum in the Florida DOC or anything about a trial for him on the case of the 17 year old that he was tied to. Could mean it hasn't come to trial yet, but.. 4 years.. Not unheard of, but you'd think it would have gone to trial by now.

04-16-2019, 05:19 PM	#13
Fletch Cabin fever Frequent Poster Join Date: May 10, 2002 Posts: 485	LE/Prosecution is likely building a case... it takes time. I would be shocked if he's not in custody during the lull.

04-17-2019, 01:56 AM	#14
James T Member Senior Member Join Date: Apr 23, 2006 Location: England Posts: 1,571	If only Nancy Myer could have come up with the name of the killer.