The murder of Barbara Mae Tucker
Gresham, Multnomah County, Oregon · 1980
Overview
Barbara Mae Tucker, a 19-year-old business student at Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham, Oregon, was kidnapped, sexually assaulted, and beaten to death on the evening of January 15, 1980, as she walked to an evening class. Witnesses saw her run onto Northeast Kane Drive with blood and mud on her face, waving for help as drivers swerved around her, before a man pulled her back into a wooded area near the campus. Her body was found the next morning by arriving students. The case went cold for more than four decades. In 2000 the Oregon State Police Crime Lab developed a male DNA profile from autopsy swabs, but it matched no one. In 2021, investigative genetic genealogy by Parabon NanoLabs and chief genetic genealogist CeCe Moore identified Robert Arthur Plympton as the likely source; Gresham detectives covertly collected chewing gum he discarded, and the lab confirmed the match. Plympton, who had been a 16-year-old high school student at the time of the killing, was arrested on June 8, 2021. After a bench trial, Multnomah County Circuit Judge Amy Baggio found him guilty of murder on March 15, 2024, and he was sentenced on October 3, 2024, to life in prison with a minimum of 40 years.
How it was solved
Gresham police preserved physical evidence from the 1980 crime scene and autopsy even though DNA fingerprinting did not yet exist. In 2000, the Oregon State Police Crime Lab developed a male DNA profile from vaginal swabs taken during Barbara Tucker's autopsy, but it produced no match in criminal databases. In 2015, on the anniversary of the murder, Gresham Detective Aaron Turnage was assigned the cold case and later sent the unknown DNA profile to Parabon NanoLabs of Reston, Virginia, for investigative genetic genealogy. Parabon's chief genetic genealogist, CeCe Moore, produced a phenotype prediction indicating the unknown man very likely had red hair, which she described as the most confident red-hair prediction Parabon's scientists had ever made. Using that and the genetic matches in genealogy databases, Moore traced the profile through a family line and, in early 2021, identified Robert Arthur Plympton of Troutdale as the likely contributor. Gresham detectives placed Plympton under surveillance and recovered a wad of chewing gum he spat out; the Oregon State Police Crime Lab confirmed that the DNA on the gum matched the profile from the 1980 autopsy swabs. Plympton was arrested on June 8, 2021. Because he had been 16 at the time of the murder, prosecutors moved to try him as an adult. After a bench trial held February 26 to March 15, 2024, Multnomah County Circuit Judge Amy Baggio found Plympton guilty of one count of first-degree murder and four counts of second-degree murder; she acquitted him of the rape and sexual-abuse charges, finding prosecutors had not proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the sexual assault occurred while Tucker was still alive. On October 3, 2024, Judge Kelly Skye sentenced Plympton to life in prison with a 40-year minimum.
Sources
- Oregon man found guilty of 1980 murder of college student after gum provides DNA link
“Barbara Mae Tucker, 19, was kidnapped, sexually assaulted and beaten to death near the Mt. Hood Community College campus in Gresham, Oregon, on January 15, 1980; her body was found the following morning by arriving students.”
- Robert Plympton Arrested For 1980 Murder Of Barbara Mae Tucker
“Witnesses saw 19-year-old Barbara Mae Tucker emerge from the woods waving with a dirty and bleeding face as she walked to night classes; a man pulled her back into the trees. Robert Plympton, 58, of Troutdale, who was 16 at the time of the crime, was arrested after a DNA match and charged as an adult.”
- Gresham's oldest homicide case solved over 40 years later
“Parabon's chief genetic genealogist CeCe Moore said this was the most confident red hair prediction Parabon scientists had ever had, and used it to focus on one family line and identify Robert Plympton as the likely suspect in March 2021; detectives then collected a wad of chewing gum he spit out, and the DNA matched the autopsy swabs.”
- Man found guilty in Gresham's oldest cold case murder
“Detective Aaron Turnage took over the cold case in 2015 on the anniversary of Tucker's murder and said that when he received the case he knew there had been 35 years of various detectives who had worked it; Robert Arthur Plympton, 60, of Troutdale, was found guilty in March 2024.”
- UPDATE: Robert Plympton Sentenced to Life in Prison
“Vaginal swabs from the 1980 autopsy were analyzed by the Oregon State Police Crime Lab in 2000, creating a DNA profile; in 2021 a Parabon NanoLabs genealogist identified Plympton as a likely contributor, detectives collected discarded chewing gum, and the OSP Crime Lab confirmed it matched the original profile.”
- Four decades later, Barbara Tucker's killer gets life in prison
“Plympton was found guilty March 15, 2024, by Multnomah County Circuit Judge Amy Baggio after a bench trial; multiple drivers had witnessed Tucker running onto Northeast Kane Drive with blood and mud on her face, and a man grabbed her arm and pulled her into the woods.”
- Robert Plympton Sentenced To Life In Prison - 10/04/24
“On October 3, 2024, Judge Kelly Skye imposed a sentence of life in prison with a minimum of 40 years; Judge Amy Baggio had found Plympton guilty on March 15, 2024, of one count of Murder in the First Degree and four counts of Murder in the Second Degree.”
- Oregon man found guilty after DNA from chewing gum links him to 1980 murder of college student
“Judge Amy Baggio found Plympton guilty of first-degree murder but acquitted him of rape and sexual abuse, ruling prosecutors failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the sexual assault happened while she was still alive; detectives collected chewing gum Plympton discarded and the Oregon State Police Crime Lab confirmed it matched the autopsy DNA profile.”
- Family thanks police for not giving up on sister's murder after four decades
“Sister Alice Juan said Barbie was the baby in the family, and there were seven of us, and that the detectives did not quit looking; sister Susan Pater said they just want her, and Detective Adam Wright said the department is glad to bring the family some closure.”
- Barbara Tucker: DNA collected from chewing gum leads to arrest and conviction in 1980 cold case murder
“DNA from autopsy swabs was analyzed by Virginia-based Parabon NanoLabs, where genetic genealogist CeCe Moore generated a snapshot phenotype prediction indicating red hair; Plympton was placed under surveillance, investigators recovered discarded chewing gum, the DNA matched, and he was arrested on June 8, 2021.”