Man raped and strangled 68-year-old in 1976, OK cops say. Brother kills him years later
A man broke into 68-year-old Lena Johnston’s home in 1976 and strangled her to death, Oklahoma investigators said. Her case went unsolved.
Thirteen years later, in 1989, 40-year-old Charles Droke was killed by his brother who had just been released from prison, Oklahoma City police said.
Now, decades after their deaths, the Oklahoma City Police Cold Case unit has found a link between the two killings, according to a Dec. 5 news release.
DNA evidence decoded by modern technology found that it was Droke who broke into Johnston’s home in 1976, raping and killing her, investigators said.
Following Johnston’s death, the case sat idle for 28 years. In 2004, a DNA profile of the suspected killer was created and entered into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), according to police.
The database holds DNA from crime scenes, people convicted of crimes and missing persons, investigators said.
However, there were no profiles that matched the DNA entered into the system, police said, so the case remained unsolved.
By 2023, newly available technology allowed investigators to compare the suspected killer’s profile with DNA from a service that searches samples voluntarily submitted to genealogy websites, police said.
With the help of DNA Labs International, a private service, they identified the family tree of the killer, leading investigators to Droke after a year of narrowing the search, officials said.
The yearlong investigation determined that Droke forced himself into Johnston’s home and killed her 13 years before he himself was killed, police said.
This is the first case that Oklahoma City police has solved using DNA Labs International, police said in the news release.
Genetic genealogy
Genetic genealogy uses DNA testing coupled with “traditional genealogical methods” to create “family history profiles,” according to the Library of Congress. With genealogical DNA testing, researchers can determine if and how people are biologically related.
Familial DNA searching
Familial DNA searching is done by comparing DNA profiles with government-run DNA databases, such as the Combined DNA Index System, according to Jennifer Wiebe, a professional genealogist.
Unlike forensic investigative genetic genealogy, which searches public DNA databases, it “can only locate very close relatives, either a parent, child or sibling,” Wiebe said on her website.
Forensic investigative genetic genealogy can potentially find more distant relatives, according to Wiebe.
This story was originally published December 5, 2024 at 1:17 PM with the headline "Man raped and strangled 68-year-old in 1976, OK cops say. Brother kills him years later."
