Police link NJ man to cold-case murders of teen, young woman — but it’s too late
DNA breakthrough: Advanced testing links NJ man to two cold case murders
⚖️ Justice without trial: Suspect died in 2000, decades before ID
️ Cold case success: New unit and genetic genealogy cracked both cases
CAMDEN – Decades after the separate killings of two young women, DNA evidence led police to a local man, who would face murder charges if he were still alive.
Mantua Township resident Francis T. Schooley was just linked to the 1993 murder of 24-year-old Marebeth Welsh, of Woodlynne, and the brutal killing in the following year of 16-year-old Jennifer Persia, of Magnolia.
Schooley died in 2000 at the age of 39.
DNA technology breakthrough solves decades-old NJ cold cases
“Thanks to remarkable advances in DNA technology and diligent detective work, we have finally been able to bring answers to two families who have waited decades for justice,” Camden County Prosecutor Grace C. MacAulay said in a written release on Thursday.
Since 2024, the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office has had a full-time, dedicated Homicide Cold Case Unit, focused on using advances in DNA testing and genetic genealogy to make potential breakthroughs in years-old investigations.
Read More: Who is he? 22-year-old NJ cold case still unsolved
Details of the 1993 and 1994 killings in Camden County
Welsh was found by Camden Police very early on Nov. 14, 1993, lying on a city sidewalk along the 300 block of Jackson Street.
The victim had blood coming from her nose. She had no shoes and just one sock on her right foot. Investigators said it appeared that she had been killed at a different location and brought to the street.
A medical examiner determined that Welsh was strangled to death, while also finding signs of a sexual assault.
At the time that she was killed, Welsh was estranged from her husband and living with two men, a couple of miles from where she was found, in a residence on Cypress Avenue in Woodlynne.
Investigators collected a blood sample from Welsh’s bed comforter and traces of semen on the victim’s body, shirt and underwear.
FBI agents did additional DNA analysis and ruled out Welsh’s husband, housemates and two other males as potential matches.
About five months after Welsh was killed, Magnolia Police found the second, younger victim, Persia, in a Jefferson Street home on April 4, 1994.
She was on the living room floor, having been stabbed numerous times and strangled by a piece of cloth around her neck.
A medical examiner determined that the teen was killed by multiple stab wounds to the neck and chest, strangulation, and sharp and blunt injuries.
Investigators recovered evidence that included blood from Persia’s socks, a door and a bedroom closet. Analysis from an FBI Lab showed the DNA samples were from an unknown male.
The DNA profile from the Persia homicide evidence was entered into the Combined DNA Index System — or CODIS — with no results for a match.
Genetic genealogy and CODIS lead to suspect identification
Years later in 2021, investigators sent a sample of the DNA to Parabon Nanolabs for Investigative Genealogy testing.
Within two months, results provided a name for a possible source of the DNA, who was already found to be dead.
Detectives interviewed the siblings and a child of the possible contributor and swabbed them for DNA samples, but testing ultimately proved no matches.
In August 2025, Welsh’s shirt and underwear were resubmitted to the State Police Office of Forensic Sciences for updated, further DNA analysis.
One unknown male contributor was identified from the samples and the DNA profile was entered into CODIS. Investigators got back one match — to the DNA profile from the Persia evidence.
Police did further interviews in both cases, and found that Schooley was a common suspect.
Schooley had done construction work at Persia’s stepfather's home and business, which was Sterling Auto Shop. Schooley was also part owner of a mini race car sponsored by the auto shop.
Detectives also spoke with a sibling of Schooley’s who remembered seeing their late brother with Welsh, in the past.
In January, detectives collected inner-cheek swabs of a sibling and parent of Schooley, which were forwarded to three labs for kinship testing.
By early March, reports were received from Parabon Nanolabs, the FBI Lab, and the State Police lab showing extremely strong evidence that the DNA samples were from Schooley.
“These cases never left the minds of our investigators, even as the years passed,” MacAulay said.
She specifically thanked Sgt. Dennis Convery and Detective Daniel Crawford for their “unwavering commitment to the truth.”
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