Overview
- Prosecutors announced Thursday that DNA evidence identified Francis T. Schooley as the suspect in the murders of Marebeth Welsh and Jennifer Persia, and said he would have been charged if alive.
- Investigators said sperm on Welsh’s clothing matched an unknown male blood profile from Persia’s home after 2025 testing linked the samples.
- Kinship analysis using DNA from Schooley’s parents and a sibling in January 2026 showed the profile was millions of times more likely to come from their child than from an unrelated person.
- Detectives documented ties between Schooley and both victims, including construction work for Persia’s stepfather and relatives who recalled seeing him with Welsh.
- The 2024 Homicide Cold Case Unit worked with Parabon NanoLabs and New Jersey state forensic scientists, and investigators are still examining motive and any links to other unsolved cases.