SLOTH: Richard John Davis (with guest Kasia Earley)

In this week's episode, Ashley Willcott reviews the the 1970 murder of Nancy Bennallack, a 28-year-old court reporter in Sacramento, California. For over five decades, the case remained unsolved, leaving her family and the community in a state of unresolved grief.   The investigation saw renewed efforts, particularly with advancements in DNA technology. In 2004, a DNA profile was obtained from blood left at the crime scene. However, initial searches in national DNA databases yielded no matches.   Eventually, investigators turned to forensic genetic genealogy. This technique involved using the suspect's DNA profile to identify distant relatives in public genealogical databases, leading to the construction of a family tree. This process ultimately identified Richard John Davis, who had lived in the same apartment complex as Bennallack at the time of her murder. Though Davis had died in 1997, DNA from a family member confirmed his involvement. The case was then closed. In our breakdown segment, Ashley goes deep with Kasia Earley on the details behind Robert John Davis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices