New Jersey State Police named Larry Burney the primary suspect in William Jenkins’ 1982 killing, saying DNA evidence linked Burney to the crime scene. Jenkins was found bound and stabbed in his East Orange home; Burney died in prison in 2005.
The case went cold after East Orange police investigated. In 2024, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office contacted the New Jersey State Police Cold Case Unit through the Garden State Cold Case Network. Investigators submitted evidence with an unknown male DNA profile to Othram for genetic genealogy testing. In June, they narrowed the possible suspects to three brothers with ties to Essex County, particularly Newark, and later obtained a reference sample associated with Burney.
According to NJ.com, Burney was sentenced to life in prison in 1984 for using a sawed-off rifle to rob two New Jersey men in 1982.
