LAYTON — Police reopening the investigation of a triple slaying 31 years ago are hoping DNA evidence and other advances in forensic science will shed new light on the case.
On April 11, 1970, Dale Jean Langston, 24, and her two children were found dead in their Layton home.
The woman, found in her bed, had been stabbed more than 33 times. Six-year-old Christine Jeffs also was found in her mother's bedroom. Her throat had been cut and her head beaten with a blunt object.
In his room, 3-year-old Troy Don Langston was found with his throat cut and head beaten, and he had been disemboweled.
Police detective Joe Morrison said, "I don't know if I will be able to solve this or not. My main concern is that the family will have some peace of mind."
At the time of the murder, the woman's husband, Don Langston, was heading to Detroit with his two brothers and a friend.
Morrison said Don Langston and his friends had records for nonviolent crimes, including theft and burglary.
The mother of Dale Jean Langston, Loretta Jean Greenman of Ogden, said her daughter "was afraid of a lot of Don's friends because most of them came from the pen."
Morrison said that because many of the Langstons' friends and acquaintances had criminal histories, finding people to cooperate in the investigation was nearly impossible.
Police did have a prime suspect at the time, Dennis Baker, 23. Baker, who was already in prison for unrelated crimes, was charged in the murders, but there was insufficient evidence and the charges were dropped. Shortly afterward, Baker hanged himself in his prison cell.
Morrison does not believe that investigators in 1970 explored every avenue.
"I've had to piece together what the officers did at that time," he said. "There are other individuals who need to be looked at as suspects also."
Don Langston is still alive, and police are trying to locate him. Morrison said he is believed to be living somewhere in Southern California.
Since the murders, a whole new dimension has opened up in forensic science.
"We have DNA; we also have techniques available to us now that we didn't have then that can help us enhance evidence. Material back then that didn't have any forensic value does now," Morrison said.
Boxes of evidence — bloody sheets, clothing and other items — have remained in storage for three decades at the Layton Police Department.
"A blood spot on a blanket — even now you can pull up the DNA after 30 years and determine if it's from the victim or the suspect," Morrison said.
He said police also have laser techniques that can reveal undiscovered fingerprints on old evidence.
Utah State Crime Lab criminalist J. Gabriel Bier said the latest innovation has been the creation of the Combined DNA Index System, called CODIS. It is an ever-growing database of convicted violent offenders who are required to submit a DNA sample.
"It's a dynamic database. Every day someone gets arrested. We haven't even touched the tip of the iceberg as far as potential use," Bier said.