Dayton charged a 2003 strangulation after a DNA hit.

DNA on clothing can open a door. It does not walk the State through a jury instruction. Dayton police said a December 2025 cold-case review sent evidence to Ohio BCI, which reported an unknown male profile on Arlene Hall’s clothing in July 2026 and later matched it to Jesse James Lockley Jr., 70. Officers interviewed him on Sept. 15. Police say he made incriminating statements. He was booked on a murder charge. That package can be enough for an arrest. It is not proof beyond a reasonable doubt, and a lab report does not decide how the DNA got there.

Hall was last seen in March 2003 and found in an April basement on Germantown Street. The death was ruled a homicide by strangulation. Leads died. That is how a file goes cold. A later hit plus an interview is a new chapter, not a closing argument. Transfer, contamination, and consent are still trial fights if the case is tried.

As of Sept. 17, 2026, the public record is a charge and a jail booking. Police have not announced a conviction because there is not one. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.