Summary
In February 1996, Terrance Paquette arrived at the Lil' Champ Food Store, 4510 Clarcona-Ocoee Road, between 5 and 6 a.m. to prepare for a 6 a.m. opening. Within a few hours he was murdered by an unknown assailant, having been stabbed 73 times. He had only moved to Orlando a few years earlier, worked 60 hours weeks, and did not have many known associates. There were no witnesses to the murder and so investigators quickly exhausted all leads trying to find those responsible for Paquette's brutal death.
In 2003 the case was re-examined and the Orange County Sheriff's Office sought new leads in the case. Some exclusions were made using a DNA profile developed from crime scene evidence, but the murderer was not identified. The case had again gone cold.
In the fall of 2019, the Orange County Sheriff's Office engaged the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) to assist with the case. FLDE contracted Othram to use advanced DNA testing to develop a comprehensive genealogical profile that could be used to generate new leads that might identify Paquette's killer. Othram used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive genealogical profile. Upon successful generation of the profile, Othram returned the profile to FDLE, where FDLE investigators used forensic genetic genealogy to narrow in on possible suspects. Empowered by these fresh genealogical leads, investigators were able to confirm the suspect in the stabbing death of Terrance Paquette as 54-year-old Eustis resident Kenneth Robert Stough Jr, who is now being held without bail on charges of first-degree murder and robbery with a deadly weapon.
Michael Vogen
Director of Case Management
Michael works with law enforcement agencies throughout the United States and Canada on “unsolvable“ cases that can benefit from advanced DNA testing methods. He helps these agencies use cutting edge DNA sequencing and new forensic techniques to develop investigative leads for their cases.
About Othram Inc.
Othram is the world’s first private DNA laboratory built specifically to apply the power of modern parallel sequencing to forensic evidence. Othram’s scientists are experts at recovery, enrichment, and analysis of human DNA from trace quantities of degraded or contaminated materials. Founded in 2018, and located in The Woodlands, Texas, our team works with academic researchers, forensic scientists, medical examiners, and law enforcement agencies to achieve results when other approaches have failed. Follow Othram on Twitter @OthramTech or visit Othram.com to learn how we can help you with your case. With dnasolves.com anyone can make a difference and help solve the next cold case.