Tennessee Clears Sexual Assault Kit Backlog

Tennessee’s crime labs are breaking ground on clearing decades-old sexual assault kits, thanks to new funding and scientists—Nashville included. A recent $250K federal grant will send 183 more untested kits for processing, cutting down from a 2014 backlog of 9,000. Victims’ healing depends on timely results, especially after a 2022 Memphis murder where DNA from an untested kit—processed too late—linked to the killer. Now, statewide turnaround averages just under 15 weeks, with hope rising even as a few hundred kits remain in Nashville. Support the show:Get a discount at https://solipillow.com/discount/dnn. Advertise on DNN:[email protected] This is an automated, high-level news summary based on public reporting.Report issues to [email protected]. View sources & latest updates:https://sources.thednn.ai/c574788144643639