After more than 30 years, arrest made in brutal cold case murder of Columbus teen

After more than three decades, police have made an arrest in the brutal 1992 slaying of 19 year-old Amy Hooper.

On Dec. 17, a Franklin County Grand Jury indicted 57 year-old Washington State man Bruce Daniels for the murder and rape of Hooper, according to Franklin County Court records.

He was arrested earlier this month after investigators matched Daniels’ DNA, taken from his trash by Washington investigators, to DNA from the crime.

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It’s unclear what led police to Daniels although many high-profile cold cases have been solved recently using genetic genealogy, a field that uses genealogical DNA banks to identify possible suspects.

Hooper was killed on March 9, 1992, after her bound body was found on the floor of her Lincoln Village apartment. She was bludgeoned and stabbed to death. 

Investigators have previously stated that they believed Hooper knew her attacker, although police have not publicly confirmed any connection she may have had with Daniels, who was 25 at the time.

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