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Police: DNA Links Ind. Inmate To Ark. Teen's Death

Last updated on Thursday, April 12, 2012

(FORREST CITY, Ark.) - A DNA match has linked an Indiana inmate to the slaying and rape of a 19-year-old woman in eastern Arkansas more than a decade ago, authorities said.

Forrest City Police Chief E.P. Reynolds said Wednesday that authorities plan to extradite Anthony Johnson to Arkansas, where he is expected to face a capital murder charge in the death of Tawana Blunt.

Reynolds said DNA evidence from Blunt's case matches a sample of Johnson's DNA in a national database.

Blunt was 19 when she was raped and killed. Her body was found in her apartment in Forrest City in September 2000.

Reynolds said Johnson is imprisoned in Indiana for beating his girlfriend.

Blunt's family thanked authorities for staying on the case for nearly 12 years.

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