In early March of 1994, Stephanie Hummer went missing. Stephanie was just eighteen years old and a freshman at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. Police say Stephanie was snatched off Pearl Alley, east of campus. On March 6, 1994, her body was found in a field near downtown. She had been sexually assaulted and bludgeoned in the back of the head.
Her partially clothed body was found face down in a field about four miles from her dorm.
She had been raped and murdered. Thirty-five-year-old Jonathan Jerome Gravely is charged with her murder. Police say they have DNA evidence linking him to the crime. It's been 12 long years trying to find Hummer's killer, but a law passed just last year played a key role in tracking down Gravely.
Hummer, a 1993 Finneytown High School graduate (Cincinnati, OH), was on a full scholarship at Ohio State University when she was killed. Police said she was kidnapped near the campus as she walked to a party at 3:00 a.m. in early March of 1994. Police found Gravely at a labor pool site Wednesday, and during questioning he admitted to some involvement in the case, police said. He was charged with one count of murder, and is expected to be arraigned today in Franklin County.
Stephanie Hummer was an athlete with a vivacious personality who dabbled with the idea of becoming a model; she would have turned 30 this year.
In 2002, a park along North Bend Road, a short distance from the home of her parents, Dan and Sue Hummer, was dedicated in her memory.
According to the new law, anyone charged with a felony must submit a sample of their DNA. Gravely was recently convicted of a felony, and as a result, was required to submit a DNA sample. That sample was compared to a DNA sample taken at the time of the murder. Police say they matched. It was the morning of March 6, 1994 when Stephanie Hummer's body was found in a field.
Stephanie Hummer was an athlete with a vivacious personality who dabbled with the idea of becoming a model; she would have turned 30 this year.
In 2002, a park along North Bend Road, a short distance from the home of her parents, Dan and Sue Hummer, was dedicated in her memory.
According to the new law, anyone charged with a felony must submit a sample of their DNA. Gravely was recently convicted of a felony, and as a result, was required to submit a DNA sample. That sample was compared to a DNA sample taken at the time of the murder. Police say they matched. It was the morning of March 6, 1994 when Stephanie Hummer's body was found in a field.
Jonathan Gravely was once a star athlete in Columbus, and no one ever suspected him in this crime until his DNA showed up in the state database.
Jonathan Gravely hid behind a public defender in court Thursday, but police told the judge that he has confessed to the murder.
When the judge set bond at $1 billion, Gravely's family left the courtroom in tears.
If it weren't for a 2003 indictment for non-support, the lowest of felonies, Gravely would still be free. He wasn't paying the mother of his two teenage children the $377 a month he'd been ordered to. He pled guilty to one count and was ordered to pay more than $21,000 in back support.
He also got five-years probation, which allowed a probation officer to swab for Gravely's DNA for the state database.
At one time Gravely had a bright future. He graduated from Whetstone High School in 1989. He was the quarterback on the football team and a star player in basketball.
Jonathan Gravely hid behind a public defender in court Thursday, but police told the judge that he has confessed to the murder.
When the judge set bond at $1 billion, Gravely's family left the courtroom in tears.
If it weren't for a 2003 indictment for non-support, the lowest of felonies, Gravely would still be free. He wasn't paying the mother of his two teenage children the $377 a month he'd been ordered to. He pled guilty to one count and was ordered to pay more than $21,000 in back support.
He also got five-years probation, which allowed a probation officer to swab for Gravely's DNA for the state database.
At one time Gravely had a bright future. He graduated from Whetstone High School in 1989. He was the quarterback on the football team and a star player in basketball.
At the time of Stephanie Hummer's death, Gravely's children were three and five years old.
Gravely's family wouldn't talk to a reporter from 10 TV Thursday, but in the hall outside the courtroom, his mother hysterically proclaimed his innocence.
Court records also show Gravely was ordered to pay support for another child born in 2003, and he had to submit to DNA testing then to prove paternity, but that DNA sample did not go into the State data base, because the law requiring this was not passed until 2005.
Gravely's public defender claims that he didn't waive his Miranda rights and he will be filing a motion to throw out his confession. Gravely has plead innocent to the murder charge.
Jonathan Gravely is being held on a $1 Billion bond !!Gravely's family wouldn't talk to a reporter from 10 TV Thursday, but in the hall outside the courtroom, his mother hysterically proclaimed his innocence.
Court records also show Gravely was ordered to pay support for another child born in 2003, and he had to submit to DNA testing then to prove paternity, but that DNA sample did not go into the State data base, because the law requiring this was not passed until 2005.
Gravely's public defender claims that he didn't waive his Miranda rights and he will be filing a motion to throw out his confession. Gravely has plead innocent to the murder charge.
Murderer:
