Crime and Courts

Florida man linked to 1996 cold case by beer cans is convicted in convenience store killing

DNA from beer cans were used to link Kenneth Stough Jr. to blood found all over the Lil’ Champ mini-mart, where Terrance Paquette was stabbed to death, authorities said.

Terence Paquette was brutally stabbed to death in 1996 inside the Orange County convenience store where he worked.
Orange County Sheriff's Office, Florida

A Florida man who was arrested 25 years after a fatal stabbing thanks to DNA from beer cans was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison Friday, the Orange County prosecutor’s office said.

The killing of Terrance Paquett, who was stabbed 73 times as he was working alone at the Lil’ Champ mini-mart in 1996 in Orlando, went unsolved until 2021.

In March of that year authorities arrested Kenneth Stough, Jr. after they said DNA from beer cans retrieved outside of his home in Eustis linked him to blood at the scene.

Stough, now 56, was convicted by a jury of first-degree murder Friday after a five-day trial, the State Attorney’s for the Ninth Judicial Circuit said in a statement.

The public defender's office, which represented Stough, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Stough was sentenced to life in prison after Friday's jury verdict, the state attorney's office said.

Read the full story on NBCNews.com here.

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