Beaumont Police Department and the Texas Rangers Partner with Othram to Identify the 1995 Rapist & Murderer of Mary Catherine Edwards

Advanced DNA testing has revealed Clayton Foreman as the suspect in the brutal rape and murder of a 31-year-old school teacher.
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Published May 06 by Michael Vogen
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Summary

In January 1995, the parents of Mary Catherine Edwards, a "well-loved" Beaumont, Texas school teacher, went to her home to check on her. Mary lived alone, had not responded to calls and her parents were concerned. Upon arrival, they found she had been murdered in her bathroom. Beaumont detectives later determined that the Mary had been sexually assaulted before her murder. Throughout the years, investigators worked the case and all available leads. DNA from an unknown male was found at the crime scene and a STR profile was produced, however it returned no matches in a CODIS search. Traditional forensic DNA testing was used to exclude many people over the years and eventually all leads were exhausted and the case went cold.

In 2020, the Texas Rangers and Beaumont PD renewed efforts on the case and offered a $6000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person responsible for Mary Catherine Edwards' sexual assault and murder. In addition, the Texas Rangers Unsolved Crimes Investigation Program and Beaumont Police Department teamed up with Othram to leverage advanced DNA testing and forensic genetic genealogy to help uncover new investigative leads that would identify the unknown person from the crime scene. There was remaining evidence from the 1995 crime and several items were sent to Othram, where lab scientists eventually developed a DNA extract that was suitable for advanced DNA testing. Processing the DNA, a mixture of an unknown male and the victim, the Othram team leveraged Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to produce an enhanced DNA profile that could be used for forensic genetic genealogy matching.

The Texas Rangers Unsolved Crimes Investigation Program, working with Beaumont PD, led the investigative effort, leveraging family trees and public records to identify the unknown male from the crime scene. Eventually, the unknown man was identified as Clayton Foreman. Although he was not a person of interest in the original investigation, he knew the victim from high school. In 2021, he has arrested and charged with her murder.

Help fund another case Your contributions pay for lab supplies and research tools

Updates

Mary Catherine Edwards' killer is sentenced to life in prison

March 20

In 1995, Mary Catherine Edwards was beaten, raped, and murdered in her own home. In 2021, Othram helped the Texas Rangers and Beaumont PD identify her rapist & murderer. Today, he was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.


Michael Vogen

Michael Vogen

Director of Case Management

2829 Technology Forest Blvd Suite 100, The Woodlands, Texas 77381
media@othram.com

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.

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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 ... Read morerecovery, 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.