Jennifer was found dead by her father and his girlfriend when they returned from a vacation in March 1998. She had been killed by blows from an axe which was recovered at the crime scene.
Law enforcement shared details about how they believe the alleged killer and the cold case victim met.
“Jennifer was a social individual,” MPD Detective Sergeant James Maples said. “She encouraged conversation as she would go to the library and walk around town. She engaged in telephone chat lines, and dating sites, and actively sought companionship from people.”
As one of the victim’s chat line contacts, Premo was questioned during the original investigation.
Detective Wade Rediger said, there was evidence the defendant had written Jennifer a letter and “tried to meet with the victim around the time of her death.”
But then the case went cold.
DNA tests uncovered suspect
Investigators were able to get DNA samples from the murder weapon. But DNA testing technology, at the time, was in its infancy.
In 2020, Marysville detectives sent the samples to Virginia-based Parabon NanoLabs. Parabon has helped law enforcement crack 250 cold cases since 2018. The lab uses advanced forensic testing and mapping techniques to develop suspects.
