The Associated Press
Enid, Okla. (AP) -- Enid police have reopened an 18-year-old murder case in hopes that DNA evidence and new technology will help pinpoint the killer.
Amber Sky Roberts, 6, was molested, beaten and stabbed before being found on the morning of May 16, 1986, in a garage 2 1/2 blocks from her family’s apartment.
Roberts’ mother, Lisa Roberts -- now known as Lisa Galusha -- put her two children to bed and went to a party in the apartment complex a few hours later.
The party moved to Galusha’s apartment about 4:30 a.m., and she let three of the men stay because they had been drinking.
Galusha realized that morning her daughter hadn’t left for school as she thought. Roberts’ body had been found an hour earlier.
Police arrested Roy Reeb, one of the partygoers, two days later. Prosecutors filed charges but then dismissed the case in November 1988 after the defense attorney got evidence regarding the blood on the defendant’s boots thrown out.
“Roy Reeb was a strong suspect,” said John Proctor, who was the prosecutor. “He wasn’t the only strong suspect.”
Detectives are conducting interviews, and they have sent the blood-stained boots to the FBI for DNA analysis.
Detective Randy West worked on the case originally and currently leads the investigation. He said police got positive results from some retesting of evidence when the department reopened the case in September, which is when the police department created a cold case unit.
DNA technology was not common when police initially worked on Roberts’ case.
At the time, forensic scientists used blood types to eliminate suspects. DNA analysis can narrow the field of suspects much more, to odds as low as one in 6 billion, experts have said.
West said he thought in 1986 that the case could be solved.
“I still believe even more that the case will be solved.”