DNA testing and a fingerprint identification database that were not available in 1978 has led the Phoenix Police Department to arrest a man wanted for murder and sexual assault that occurred more than four decades ago.
Glenn Williams was arrested last week for the crime allegedly committed on June 10, 1978. At the time, Phoenix Police found Fernando Calleros and a woman in the bed of a pickup truck. The 23-year-old Calleros had been beaten to death while the woman was beaten and sexually assaulted, but ultimately survived the attack.
Forty-one years ago, Williams was booked based upon probable cause, which included fingerprints, but the Phoenix Police Department was not using AFIS at the time. Williams was eventually released from jail due to a lack of evidence. Detectives in 1979 exhausted all their options; however, in 2020, that is no longer the case.
“The field of forensic DNA testing continues to advance at a rapid rate. It opens up lots of doors for us to revisit these cases that we never would've been able to test previously,” said Phoenix Crime Lab Administrator Jody Wolf. “"We're constantly looking for ways to use current technologies and new approaches to combine best science with best evidence."
When the Phoenix Crime Lab tested DNA left on evidence at the 1978 crime scene in 2019, they were able to match it to Williams.
“The collection, preservation and maintaining of the evidence almost 42 years was a key factor,” Phoenix Police Sergeant Tommy Thompson told Forensic.
In addition, the fingerprints that were located and identified back in 1979 were submitted through AFIS and came back as a match to Williams.
Last year, the Phoenix Police Department Cold Case Homicide Squad decided to reexamine the Calleros case.
“Our Cold Case Squad is continually reviewing cases to see if they can work them,” Thompson said. “The review in this case revealed evidence to reexamine.”
Thankfully, that evidence was collected and maintained properly from 1978 to 2019, allowing the current forensic lab specializes to identify the suspect.
“The gathering, preparing and maintaining of evidence, whether DNA, fingerprints, etc., still requires old-fashion police work. Who knows what evidence preserved now will be tested with future technology not available today,” Thompson said.
Photo: Glenn Williams' 2020 mugshot. Photo credit: Phoenix Police Department.