How a brutal murder was solved in the USA after 30 years of mystery

The initial investigation did not identify suspects, leading to the case being cold for years. In 2010, the case was reopened and a DNA profile was entered into Codis, a national database that allows law enforcement agencies to compare DNA profiles to identify suspects, link crimes, and find missing people. Additional items linked to the crime were sent for DNA testing — and generated a male profile — but investigators found no matches at the time to identify a suspect.

New investigation was successful. Eleven years later, in 2021, cold case detectives, with the support of the NGO Vegas Justice League, sent the DNA profile to Othram Labs, an American laboratory specializing in genetics and forensic analysis, to help identify the suspect. The initiative was successful, and a man was identified.

On August 26, 2024, the laboratory informed the police that the suspect was Arthur Lavery. The man grew up in the Las Vegas area and was 38 years old at the time of Melonie White’s murder. He died from complications from Covid-19 in 2021 and had an assault charge in his criminal history.

Friends saw the victim near the suspect’s house. According to police, many of White’s friends saw her the night before the murder in an area near where Lavery lived, but no direct connection between the two was initially established, according to a CBS News report.

The brother was informed that the mystery surrounding the death had come to an end over the phone.. Jason White, Melonie’s brother, expressed his gratitude to the police and the Vegas Justice League for helping solve the case. “It was a short conversation that ended 30 years of not knowing what happened,” he said of the police call that informed him of the killer’s identity, in an interview with CBS News.