Credit: Fayetteville Police Department
The Fayetteville Police Department’s Homicide Unit has successfully identified and charged a suspect in the 2020 murder of Nena Mollison, utilizing cutting-edge forensic genetic genealogy.
Justice Robert Sampson, a 31-year-old white male, has been extradited back to Fayetteville, North Carolina, where he is currently held in the Cumberland County Jail charged with First Degree Murder.
The investigation began on March 2, 2020, when Fayetteville Police officers responded to a residence at 3857-2 Murchison Road, where they located Mollison deceased. The North Carolina Chief Medical Examiner’s Office subsequently ruled her death a homicide. While forensic technicians meticulously collected several items of evidence from the crime scene, initial rounds of DNA testing sent to the North Carolina State Crime Lab did not immediately yield a suspect match.
Refusing to let the case go cold, detectives partnered with Othram in 2023. In December 2025, Othram notified investigators they had successfully identified a potential suspect through genetic genealogy.
Detectives discovered that Sampson had relocated from Fayetteville and was residing in Americus, Georgia. In January 2026, Fayetteville investigators traveled to Americus, where they were able to obtain a DNA sample from him. Both Othram and the North Carolina State Crime Lab have since confirmed that the newly obtained sample matches the DNA recovered from the 2020 crime scene.
This breakthrough is a testament to the relentless dedication of our investigators and the power of modern forensic science.
Republished courtesy of Fayetteville Police Department