NYC Woman Charged In 2007 Unsolved Delco Murder Through DNA Evidence: DA

A woman is behind bars in connection with a 2007 unsolved murder that occurred in Sharon Hill, according to the Delaware County District Attorney's office.

The DA's office said Izena Goudy, 34, of Brooklyn, New York has been charged with first and third-degree murder, criminal homicide, and possessing instruments of crime in connection with the death of 45-year-old Gary Jenkins of Sharon Hill, in May 2007.

The DA's office said DNA evidence linked her to Jenkins' death.

At about 12:36 p.m. on May 7, 2007, the Sharon Hill Police Department was dispatched to 128 Reese St. to check on the well-being of the home owner, the DA's office said.

Officer Michael Attix entered the home and found a body on the second floor hallway wrapped in a blanket, with blood splatter throughout the hallway, according to the DA's office.

The victim was identified as Gary Jenkins, 45, who had been beaten and stabbed to death, the DA's office said.

From the scene, detectives collected 14 blood swabs from areas throughout the home, which were transported as evidence to the lab for DNA analysis and subsequently entered into the FBI national DNA identification index system, according to the DA's office.

Then, Goudy was arrested in Kings County, New York, on Jan. 1, 2014 for felony assault charges, the DA's office said. She pleaded guilty and submitted her DNA to the state of New York which was then entered into DNA index, according to the DA's office.

In May of 2015, detectives of a possible DNA match linking Goudy to Jenkins' murder, the DA's office said.

The lab report is considered preliminary and was used to obtain a search warrant for a sample and cheek swab from the individual. No scientific comparison can be made without submission of the referenced sample.

Then in September 2015, Sgt. William Wright and former Detective Richard Herron of the Sharon Hill Police Department traveled to Brooklyn, New York to collect a DNA cheek swab on Goudy, the DA's office said.

While detectives were collecting the sample, Goudy told them that she knew Jenkins and that she used to go to his home with her girlfriend and her girlfriend’s mother who was dating and living with Jenkins at the time, the DA's office said. Detectives spoke with Goudy’s girlfriend who confirmed that they would visit Jenkins' home often, according to the DA's office.

As the result of a positive match of the DNA from the crime scene and the cheek swab, detectives issued a warrant for Goudy's arrest, the DA's office said.

Goudy was charged at the conclusion of a joint investigation by Sharon Hill Borough Department and the Delaware County District Attorney’s Criminal Investigation Division, the DA's office said.

She was arraigned Thursday, Sept. 7 and was remanded to the George W. Hill Correctional Facility after Magisterial District Judge Leonard V. Tenaglia denied bail.

She will appear for her preliminary hearing Sept. 14, court records show.

Image via Delaware County District Attorney