Cold case cracked: Suspect arrested in stabbing death of 14-year-old Sabrina Matthews
12/14/2016 3:23 pm PST
A major update on a cold case that troubled investigators in New York City for years after a 14-year-old was stabbed to death in her bedroom in Queens.
On the afternoon of Nov. 9, 2008, Sabrina's dad found her body. Sabrina's mother Shirda rushed home to find crime scene tape surrounding her house.
Despite a large reward and the hard work of the NYPD, the case went cold.
Now a dramatic development: Nearly eight years to the day Sabrina was killed, detectives tell Shirda they have a suspect. Rashon Venable has been charged with second-degree murder.
At the time of the killing he was 16 and lived not far from Sabrina's house
How did cops put their sights on Venable? He was arrested in Pennsylvania in connection with the rape of a 14-year-old girl. He later copped a guilty plea to a lesser charge. While in custody he gave a DNA sample, which was entered into a nationwide database. New York City cops say that sample matched the DNA found at Sabrina's house.
Now the NYPD detectives are heroes in the community. The cops joined Sabrina's friends and family in a candlelight vigil after the arrest.
Venable hasn't yet entered a plea. If he's convicted he faces 25 years to life in prison.
