Nearly 30 years after a teenage boy was murdered and his mother was sexually assaulted in their Tennessee home, police have arrested a suspect.
George Robinson has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder for the 1997 killing of 17-year-old James Hutson. Investigators say Robinson’s DNA was linked to the crime scene, according to a press release from the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office on Nov. 22.
On September 6, 1997, James was found stabbed to death, and his mother, Mary Hutson, was sexually assaulted in their home in Kingsport, Tennessee. Police collected DNA evidence at the scene, but at the time, there was no match, and the case went cold. Mary passed away about a year later, according to WJHL.
In 2023, investigators reopened the case with the help of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. In May, they sent the DNA evidence to Othram Labs, a Texas-based genetic genealogy company. The lab identified Robinson as a possible suspect.
Police recently obtained Robinson’s DNA and compared it to the evidence from the 1997 crime scene. Forensic experts said it was a match.
On November 20, a grand jury charged Robinson with murder. However, he was not charged for Mary’s sexual assault because the statute of limitations had expired, according to First Judicial District Attorney General Barry Staubus.
When police went to arrest Robinson at his apartment in Kingsport, Tennessee, he barricaded himself inside. A SWAT team was called, and they tried to negotiate with him, but he refused to cooperate, police said.
After several hours, officers entered the apartment. Robinson shot himself and was taken to a local hospital. Authorities have not shared details about his condition.
