DNA match leads to arrest in 2020 Fayetteville murder

Fayetteville police charged a man connected to a 2020 murder investigation, police said.  

Justice Robert Sampson, 31, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Nena Mollison, Fayetteville police said.

On March 2, 2020, Fayetteville police responded to a house on Murchison Road and discovered Mollison’s body.

The North Carolina Chief Medical Examiner’s Officer later ruled Mollison’s death a homicide.

Officials said forensic technicians collected several pieces of evidence, but DNA testing didn’t immediately show a match for a potential suspect.

In 2023, detectives partnered with Othram, Inc., a private laboratory that specializes in advanced Forensic Genetic Genealogy, police said. Two years later, Othram, Inc. successfully identified Sampson as a possible suspect through genetic genealogy.

During the investigation, detectives discovered that Sampson moved from Fayetteville to Americus, Georgia, Fayetteville police said.

In January 2026, investigators traveled to Americus and obtained a DNA sample from Sampson and confirmed his DNA matched the DNA from the 2020 crime scene.

Sampson was extradited to Fayetteville and is being held in the Cumberland County Detention Center under no bond.