Ohio man convicted of 1990s cold-case murders of 2 women after new DNA evidence

COLUMBUS — A man was convicted of murdering two Ohio women by strangulation after DNA evidence linked him to the cold-case crimes over 25 years old.

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Robert Edwards, 68, was convicted by Franklin County jurors of the 1991 murder of Alma Renee Lake, 30, and the 1996 rape and murder of Michelle Dawson-Pass, 36, both of which occurred in the Columbus area, WBNS reported.

He faced a mandatory life term for the crimes. He was scheduled to be sentenced August 9.

Prosecutors were unable to link the deaths to the same suspect until 2003 when technological advancements in forensic science helped make use of available DNA evidence. The suspect’s identity still remained undetermined until DNA from a Edwards’s relative became available. The State Attorney General’s Office then notified county prosecutors in 2021 of Edwards being the possible suspect.

Edwards was convicted of murder in the case of Lake, and of aggravated murder, murder, and rape in the case of Dawson-Pass. He was acquitted of aggravated murder in Lake’s case. Prosecutors also contended that the suspect raped Lake but did not charge him with the crime because of a 30-year statute of limitations.

Edwards’s defense attorneys argued that the DNA evidence cited by prosecutors was not enough to prove guilt since the defendant lived near where the bodies were found, alluding to a possibility that his DNA may have coincidentally ended up at a location that falsely tied him to a crime.

The prosecution also played a phone call from August 2022 where Edwards was heard accusing authorities of framing him and planting his DNA.

Regina Dawson, the daughter of Dawson-Pass, said she finally felt free knowing that the man was convicted of murdering her mother.

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