The Murderer Of 12-year-old Jennifer Odom in 1993 Has Been Identified Through DNA Analysis And Arrested
The shocking murder of innocent 12 years old Jennifer Renee Odom happened On Wednesday 19th of February, 1993. She had stepped off her school bus, waved her friends goodbye, and walked home but never did she know that that was the last time she'll be seeing her friends as the authorities disclosed that was the last time she was seen.
However, Karma has a way of getting back at its prey as Hernando County Sheriff Al Nienhuis said at a press conference Thursday that deputies have identified a suspect in connection with the 12-year-old girl's murder 30 years after Odom was killed in Pasco County, Florida, about 35 miles from Tampa.
According to the children on the bus, they saw a faded blue pickup truck slowly following Odom as she walked about 200 yards to her home. Her sudden disappearance sparked a manhunt, and a search party was organized in which several law enforcement agencies in the Tampa area were searching for the blue truck that the child's classmates saw as she walked away from the bus.
The abduction led to a wide county effort as law enforcement and several volunteers searched for Odom in Dade City, Florida. The search went on for days but her body was found by two volunteers who were searching an abandoned orange grove in Hernando County, Florida, on February 25, 1993, which was six days after the abduction, and it appeared she had been brutally attacked. Some of her clothes, including a red sweater and Hooters jacket, were missing when they found her body.
The authority said that they were not sure how long her abductor held her captive or when exactly the murder took place. However, it's obvious that the murder took place in the field.
The Nienhuis said, “We’re not exactly sure how long her abductor kept her captive or the exact time the murder took place, but we are confident the murder took place in that field,”
Justice Prevail
The suspect, Jeffrey Norman Crum (61 yrs old), was identified as the suspect after biological evidence tested in February 2015 gave the detectives a DNA profile. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement then compared the DNA profile to local DNA profiles, and they got a match: Crum’s son.
In a Florida grand jury, state attorney for the 5th Circuit Bill Gladson said at the press conference that an indictment of first-degree murder, sexual battery, and kidnapping should be recommended. Norman has been charged multiple times throughout his lie and is currently serving two life sentences for attempted murder and sexual battery in a similar case in Pasco County.
Neihuis said, “I think that every one of us can assume Jennifer as our sister, our niece, our granddaughter and realize that, man, that is a tragedy beyond tragedies, especially those in law enforcement."