Stanback was sentenced to two years in prison for the hit-and-run, which he will serve concurrently with a 22-year sentence for an unrelated offense at the Scotland Correctional Institution in Laurinburg, North Carolina.
Hope for Cold Cases
The resolution of this cold case offers a glimmer of hope for other unsolved crimes.
“I think this stands as an example — of course, not every case is going to be solved this way — but you never know what is going to happen, 20, 25, 30 years down the line,” Sgt. Jackson said.
“The fact that the scientific means have been able to obtain DNA and link it, not to a specific gene pool, but to a specific individual over three decades later is amazing. It really is.”
The successful conclusion of Ruth Buchanan’s case serves as a reminder that when properly used by law enforcement the advancements in technology that can bring justice in cold cases.
