ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — Following an arrest in a murder case Wednesday, court documents detail how St. Petersburg investigators were able to track down a suspect.
According to an arrest affidavit, DNA analysis played a key role in the identification of 23-year-old Ivan Edward as a suspect in the death of 42-year-old Kelli Fisher.
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Fisher was initially reported missing on July 17. A day later, the St. Petersburg Police Department said her car was found abandoned in an empty lot.
In the affidavit, investigators noted finding blood on an arm rest by the driver’s side door, as well as on the driver’s side window.
The blood was sent to the Pinellas County Forensic Laboratory to be processed, and on Wednesday, Oct. 23, officials said a DNA analysis report identified a match with a swab collected from Edward.
Edward had already been in jail since July 29 on unrelated charges of auto theft and armed burglary, police reported.