A forty-four-year-old St. Clair County cold case is now closed. Thanks to new forensic evidence identified late last year, 70-year-old Douglas Laming and 63-year-old Anthony Harris were taken into custody in connection with the 1980 murder of 21-year-old Karen Umphrey. Both men were due to stand trial together this week; on Monday, however, Harris accepted a plea deal, providing information about the crime in exchange for a lesser charge of second-degree murder. Elements of Harris’ confession were used to help convict Laming when yesterday afternoon, a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder. Both men are scheduled for sentencing next month.
