Investigators in Austin, Texas, have solved a nearly 30-year-old cold case murder thanks to advances in DNA forensics that help match suspects to evidence left at the scene.
On May 12, 1994, Bart Allen Mann was found fatally stabbed in the kitchen of his home in the 2500 block of Star Glass Circle.
The Austin Police Department said evidence recovered from the scene suggests Mann arrived home from work to find the burglar entering the residence through the rear sliding glass door.
The two got into an argument near the front door of the home, and Mann was eventually stabbed to death.
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Bert Allen Mann (left) was stabbed to death on May 12, 1994, and advances in DNA forensics helped Austin police identify Kenneth Robbins (right) as the suspect. (Austin Police Department)
The suspect was also injured during the scuffle, leaving blood stains inside the home.
Over the next few years, detectives conducted a thorough investigation and identified more than 40 people involved.
DNA tests on bloodstain samples taken from the scene in 2005 determined they belonged to an unidentified man.
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Austin police announced that thanks to advances in DNA technology, they have identified the suspect in the 1994 murder of Bert Allen Mann. (Andrew Brooks, via Getty Images)
When the DNA profile was entered into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), no matches were found.
Almost 20 years later, in March 2023, the unidentified man’s profile was sent to Bode Technologies for forensic genetic genealogy research, which identified a potential suspect not previously known to the investigation.
Detectives executed a DNA warrant to test the suspect’s DNA on September 8, 2023, and compared his DNA to DNA found inside Mann’s home in 1994.
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He was found dead after investigators were able to identify Kenneth Robbins as the suspect through DNA testing. (St. Petersburg)
The suspect, identified as Kenneth Robbins, was found dead in a work truck in Weatherford, Texas, five days later.
Police said Robbins’ DNA matched and confirmed that he was the person whose blood was found in Mann’s home.
FOX 7 reported that police said Robbins was living in Austin at the time of the murder.
Police said an autopsy on Robbins revealed that he took his own life.
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“Mr. Mann is survived by his wife and sister, and they are satisfied that they now have answers as to who is who,” Sergeant Melanie Rodriguez of the APD Cold Case Unit told the department. “I don’t know if they’ll ever get an answer as to why, and honestly, I don’t know if any of those answers will be enough to ease their grief. ”
Over the past 29 years, more than 20 detectives, along with several non-sworn personnel, have contributed to the investigation of the case.
