IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

Police: DNA links suspects to mom, son attack

Three teenagers charged in the gang rape and beating of a woman and her son have been linked to the crime by DNA, Florida authorities said.
/ Source: The Associated Press

Three teenagers charged in the gang rape and beating of a woman and her son have been linked to the crime by DNA, authorities said.

DNA from suspects Tommy Lee Poindexter and Nathan Walker Jr. was found on the woman’s dress, according to an analysis by the Palm Beach County Crime Laboratory, released in documents Thursday. DNA from Avion Lawson also was found on a condom left at the scene, according to the documents.

Poindexter, 18, Walker, 17, and Lawson, 14, face charges including sexual battery, kidnapping and burglary. A fourth suspect, Jakaris Taylor, 16, has been previously linked to the crime through fingerprints, police said.

All face life sentences if convicted.

The woman told police that as many as 10 masked teens accosted her and her 12-year-old son in their apartment on June 18. The teens are accused of raping and sodomizing the mother, forcing mother and son to have sex with each other and beating both of them.

The suspects then doused them with cleaning solutions in an attempt to destroy evidence, police said.

Attorneys for Lawson and Walker declined to comment on Friday. Attorneys for Poindexter and Taylor did not immediately respond to telephone messages and e-mails.