Oregon man found guilty of murder in 1980 cold case of college student after DNA link

Published March 18, 2024 6:44 PM

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An Oregon man has been found guilty of murder in a 1980s cold case involving a college student. Prosecutors say Multnomah County Circuit Judge Amy Baggio found Robert Plympton of suburban Portland guilty Friday of first-degree murder in the death of Barbara Mae Tucker. Gresham police arrested Plympton in 2021 after they said DNA technology linked him to the crime. A student found Tucker’s body on campus on Jan. 16, 1980. A medical examiner determined Tucker had been sexually assaulted and beaten to death. Plympton had claimed he didn’t match the description of a man seen pulling her into the bushes.

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