54-year-old Kenneth Robert Stough Jr. was arrested on November 2, 2021, for the February 3, 1996 murder of 31-year-old Terence Paquette in Orlando, Florida.
Paquette was working as a clerk at a Lil’Champ convenience store in Orlando, where he had arrived to open the store in the early morning hours, just before 6:00 am. A few hours later, he was found dead in the bathroom after having been brutally stabbed 73 times. His throat was slit by an unknown intruder who stole the store’s cash deposits – in the amount of about $1,000. Paquette had moved to the area only a few years earlier, often worked 60-hours weeks, and was reportedly a quiet and reserved person.
A DNA profile was obtained in 2003 from blood found on a freezer door, but there were no hits to profiles in law enforcement databases. The case was reopened in 2019 by a new cold case unit, and investigators with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office were able to obtain a new DNA profile for FGG analysis.
The FGG investigation was undertaken by the FDLE. The suspects were narrowed down to Stough Jr. and his two brothers. Police made the initial confirmation through surveillance and the surreptitious sampling of beer cans that Stough discarded in his trash.
Stough was charged with first degree murder and robbery with a deadly weapon in Orange County. Although Stough did not know the victim, he once worked at the convenience store where Paquette was killed. He also lived in the area at around the time of the murder.
On August 25, 2023, Stough was found guilty of first degree murder by a jury in Orange County after a five-day trial. He has been sentenced to life in prison.
Sources:
Bain, Andrew. “Man Found Guilty of Murder in 1996 Cold Case.” Office of the State Attorney, August 25, 2023. Accessed August 27, 2023. https://sao9th.com/man-found-guilty-of-murder-in-1996-cold-case/.
Byrnes, Joe. “In a First for Orange County Sheriff, Genetic Genealogy Leads to Murder Arrest.” MMFE 90.7 News, November 4, 2021. Accessed November 7, 2021. https://www.wmfe.org/in-a-first-for-orange-county-sheriff-genetic-genealogy-leads-to-murder-arrest/192165
Johnson, Constance. “Tossed Beer Cans Led to Arrest of Suspect in Brutal 1996 Cold Case Murder, Florida Police Say.” Oxygen, November 4, 2021. Accessed November 7, 2021. https://www.oxygen.com/crime-news/robert-stough-jr-arrested-for-murder-after-dna-collected-from-cans.
Mina, John. “Sheriff Mina Update on 1996 Cold Case Murder.” Facebook (Post), November 4, 2021. Accessed November 7, 2021. https://www.facebook.com/SheriffJohnMina/videos/1446274869078781/.
Vogen, Michael. “Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Orange County Sheriff’s office Leverage Othram’s Genetic Testing Platform to Identify a 1996 Murder Suspect.” DNASolves.com, November 4, 2021. Accessed November 7, 2021. https://dnasolves.com/articles/fdle_orange_county_terrence_paquette/.
WESH Orlando. “Discarded Beer Can Helps Solve Orange County Cold Case Murder.” MSN News, November 4, 2021. Accessed November 7, 2021. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/discarded-beer-can-helps-solve-orange-county-cold-case-murder/ar-AAQi9eG.