The murder of Krystal Beslanowitch
Midway, Wasatch County, Utah · 1995
Overview
Krystal Lynn Beslanowitch, a 17-year-old runaway from Spokane, Washington, was found bludgeoned to death with a granite rock along the banks of the Provo River near Midway in Wasatch County, Utah, in December 1995. The case went cold for nearly 18 years until investigators used a new wet-vacuum forensic tool, the M-Vac, to recover touch DNA from the rough surface of the rock weapon. The profile matched Joseph Michael Simpson, a paroled killer, who was arrested in Florida in 2013 and convicted of aggravated murder in 2016.
How it was solved
Traditional swabbing of the granite rocks used to kill Beslanowitch had never produced a usable DNA profile. In 2013, Wasatch County investigators applied the M-Vac System, a wet-vacuum device that sprays sterile solution and simultaneously vacuums it back up to lift trace touch DNA from porous surfaces. Run across the coarse granite, it recovered roughly 21 nanograms of DNA, far more than the amount needed for a full profile, and produced a major male profile that was uploaded to the CODIS database. It matched Joseph Michael Simpson, a convicted murderer who had been paroled in April 1995, months before the killing, and who had worked as an airport shuttle driver near the area. Sheriff Todd Bonner traveled to Sarasota County, Florida, where Simpson was living, surveilled him for days, and covertly recovered a cigarette he discarded to confirm the match. Simpson was arrested in September 2013 and, after a four-week trial, a Heber City jury convicted him of aggravated murder on September 29, 2016.
Sources
- Spokane Teen Beaten To Death With Large Rock
“her skull and face had been crushed by repeated blows from a large rock”
- 18 years later, police say a murder mystery is solved
“It's a case that's haunted me for almost my whole career”
- DNA from rock, cigarette helps solve 1995 Utah murder
“improved DNA technology allowed investigators to extract touch DNA from granite rocks used in the attack”
- Cigarette DNA helps Utah sheriff solve cold case
“Sheriff Todd Bonner obtained a discarded cigarette left by the suspect at a Sarasota, Florida smoke shop”
- The Crime Solver
“I was ecstatic when it pulled usable DNA from that rough, coarse granite rock”
- DNA Evidence Collected By M-Vac Key In Prosecuting 18-Year-Old Cold Case
“The device recovered 21 nanograms of DNA material, far exceeding the amount typically required for a full profile”
- Trial in teen's cold case murder hinges on DNA, attorneys say
“That shows us Mr. Simpson had sex with Krystal proximate to her death, and he had his hand on the rock used to crush her skull”
- Heber City jury convicts man of murdering teen in 1995
“a jury found Simpson guilty of aggravated murder”
- Utah jury sentences man to life without parole for killing teen in 1995
“Mr. Simpson stabbed a man multiple times and left him lying there with a knife still in his back”
- Utah judge orders convicted killer to stand trial in 1995 Wasatch County homicide
“ordered convicted killer to stand trial in 1995 Wasatch County homicide”