Police Make Arrest In 2002 Homicide

ATHENS, GA — DNA testing has helped Athens-Clarke County police make an arrest in a 16-year-old murder case. Police have apprehended 34-year-old Abdus Salaam Laroche of Decatur in connection to the death of Pamela Crisler.

Police were dispatched around 2 p.m. Aug. 21, 2002, to the College Place Apartments at 2360 West Broad Street in Athens to a call of a dead woman. Police arrived to find the woman's body inside Building 400 at the apartment complex.

The woman was identified as Crisler, who was 49 years old at the time of her death. An autopsy conducted by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's Crime Lab revealed the manner of death to be homicide. Athens-Clarke County police investigators continued to work clues and leads in the case, but investigation came to a stand still until late last year.

In November 2017, detectives received a hit on DNA evidence that linked a subject to the 2002 homicide. With that information in hand, detectives spent the last six months tying up loose ends in the investigation to solidify their case. ACCPD was assisted in its efforts by the DeKalb County Probation Office, the FBI and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Warrants were obtained for Laroche's arrest, and he was apprehended without incident Tuesday afternoon in Clayton County, said Athens-Clarke County police spokesperson Epifanio Rodriguez. Anyone with more information surrounding the 2002 homicide is asked to contact Sgt. David Norris at 706-613-3888 ext. 556.

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