02 March 2023 , 06:04
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A man has been arrested in connection with an unsolved murder committed 12 years ago – because his DNA was found on a sweet potato at the crime scene.
The vegetable was found with a hole in it, leading cops to believe that it may have been used as a silencer.
A potato is used as a silencer in an episode of popular drama The Wire.
Devarus Hampton was arrested on Friday in Massachusetts in connection with the murder of Todd Lampley.
Lamley was shot dead in Hyannis, Massachusetts in February 2011.
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The 40-year-old Hampton has pleaded not guilty to the killing and was held without bail.
Todd Lampley was gunned down in Massachusetts in 2011Prosecutors said that a root vegetable used while carrying out the crime had helped them to identify the Cape Cod killer.
Police found three shell casings and the sweet potato at the time of the murder, ABC news reported.
According to a prosecutor with the Cape and Islands District Attorney's Office, they found DNA on the sweet potato that was a match for Hampton.
"The sweet potato appears to be used as a silencer," the prosecutor, First Assistant District Attorney Jessica Elumba, told ABC News.
The Wire connection may be relevant because police also found a phone at the murder scene registered in the name of Marlo Stanfield, a fictional character on the HBO hit show.
Hampton's GPS tracker placed him at the scene and his DNA was found on a sweet potato at the scene (WCVB)"It's an interesting fact pattern," Elumba said.
Elumba added in court that there is other evidence to place Hampton at the home at the time of Lampley's shooting death as he was wearing a GPS monitor after being convicted of another crime.
She declined to comment when asked why it took 12 years to make the arrest.
Prosecutors said that the gun allegedly used in the crime was fished out of a nearby lake.
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