A man living in the suburbs of Portland, Oregon, has been found guilty in the 1980 cold case murder of a 19-year-old college student. Robert Plympton, 60, was convicted of first-degree murder in the death of Barbara Mae Tucker by Multnomah County Circuit Judge Amy Baggio.
Although Plympton was not convicted of rape or sexual abuse due to lack of conclusive evidence, a medical examiner determined that Tucker had been sexually assaulted and beaten to death.
In 2021, a genealogist using DNA technology identified Plympton as a likely match to the DNA found in the case. Detectives from the Gresham Police Department located Plympton living in Troutdale and collected a piece of chewing gum he had discarded. Subsequent DNA analysis confirmed a match between the DNA from the gum and swabs taken from Tucker's preserved body.
Tucker, who was expected at a night class at Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham on Jan. 15, 1980, was found dead near a campus parking lot the following day. Witnesses reported seeing her running out of a wooded area on campus, followed by a man who led her back to campus. There was no evidence to suggest that Tucker and Plympton knew each other.
Despite maintaining his innocence and denying any involvement in the crime, Plympton was found guilty based on the DNA evidence linking him to the murder. He is scheduled to be sentenced in June.
