Cold Case Solved: DeKalb County Man Indicted for 1990 Stone Mountain Murders Using DNA Evidence

DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston has announced the indictment of Kenneth Perry, a Loganville resident, for the 1990 rape and murder of Pamela Sumpter, 43, and the murder of John Sumpter, 46, in their Stone Mountain apartment. On Tuesday, a DeKalb County Grand Jury charged Perry, 55, with two counts of Malice Murder, two counts of Felony Murder, Rape, four counts of Aggravated Assault, two counts of Aggravated Battery, two counts of Possession of a Knife During the Commission of a Felony, and Theft by Taking.

The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office’s Fugitive Unit arrested Perry on June 6, 2024, in Gwinnett County without incident. He is currently held in DeKalb County Jail without bond.

Federal Prosecuting Cold Cases Using DNA Grant

The indictment is the result of work funded by the Prosecuting Cold Cases Using DNA grant, secured by the District Attorney’s office in October 2023 from the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Assistance. An audit of 50 unsolved homicide cases led to identifying the Sumpter case as suitable for the grant due to DNA evidence from an unknown individual. Collaboration with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and Othram, a private lab specializing in forensic DNA analysis, confirmed the DNA matched Perry, linking him to both the DeKalb case and a 1992 unprosecuted sexual assault in Detroit.

Cold Case Tip Line

Authorities encourage anyone with information about Kenneth Perry or the Sumpter murders to contact the District Attorney’s Cold Case Tip Line at 404-371-2444. The tip line is operational and confidential, allowing individuals to provide information anonymously if desired.