The Idaho Falls Police Department has scheduled a press conference Wednesday morning to reveal a computer-generated composite of what Angie Dodge’s killer could look like.
“We feel this is a fairly accurate composite, based on the DNA (found at the scene),” said Idaho Falls Police Department spokesperson Joelyn Hansen. “The DNA helped us construct a prediction of physical appearance (of the suspect) based on genetic construction.”
Members of the Idaho Falls Police Department’s Criminal investigation team and Dr. Steven Armentrout from Parabon Nanolabs will be available during the press conference. According to an IFPD news release, they will outline the status of the investigation as well as provide what’s being called the DNA Phenotype Snapshot.
Angie Dodge was eighteen years old and living in an Idaho Falls apartment on June 13, 1996, when she was sexually assaulted and murdered at her home.
An eastern Idaho judge released Christopher Tapp last March, after vacating his rape conviction and resentencing him to time served for the murder.
The release came after years of work by advocates including Judges for Justice, the Idaho Innocence Project, and the victim's mother, Carol Dodge.
Tapp was a 20-year-old high school dropout at the time, and was interrogated for hours and subjected to multiple lie detector tests by police. He eventually confessed -- but DNA evidence taken from the scene didn't match Tapp or any of the other suspects in the case.
“We’re hoping releasing the composite will generate some viable leads for us in the case,” Hansen said, since the murderer likely remains at large.
While Tapp recently told Six On Your Side that he is thankful for his freedom and everyone who helped him along the way, he doesn't want anyone to forget the real victims.
"Please: no one ever forget about Carol Dodge. And don't forget about Angie,” he said. “The case is still unsolved, that's the biggest thing in this world. The case is still unsolved."
(Associated Press contributed to this story)
