N-DEx Helps Identify Murder Suspect in Missing Person Case

In January 2020, a Pennsylvania police department investigated a missing person report. A young woman had disappeared in late summer 2019, and she had not contacted family or friends. The case had gone cold, and investigators were short on leads.  
  
The big break in the case came when an intelligence analyst in an FBI field office in Pennsylvania and a Delaware task force officer contacted the police department. The analyst and task force officer shared information they had received from a confidential source—the name of an associate, the first name of a potential suspect, and information about the possible disposal of a body.

The FBI analyst searched the N-DEx System using the names and found a police report involving the suspect. These two seemingly unconnected pieces of information were brought together using N-DEx, a powerful tool for criminal justice agencies. The database allows law enforcement personnel to search, link, analyze, and share federal, state, local, and tribal records to help fill gaps in the information in a case. That’s exactly what happened in this case.
  
Using the N-DEx System, investigators identified the suspect, found her location, and discovered a probation violation. Upon entering the suspect’s home, investigators noticed the odor of decomposition. During their search, investigators located the missing woman’s body in a plastic storage bin in the suspect’s basement. They charged the suspect with first-degree murder and drug delivery resulting in death.  

Learn more about N-DEx.