DNA Breakthrough Connects 1987 Homicide To Vincent Darrell Groves
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office announced investigators linked the 1987 homicide of 30 year old Rhonda Marie Fisher to Vincent Darrell Groves through a rare DNA match obtained from trace material preserved on paper bags placed over Fisher’s hands at the original scene. The development underscores the value of evidence preservation and modern forensic reexamination, and it helps bring long overdue answers to a case that has haunted the community for decades.
Investigators with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office reported that a rare DNA match tied the 1987 murder of Rhonda Marie Fisher to Vincent Darrell Groves. Fisher, age 30, was found dead on April 1, 1987. She had been sexually assaulted and strangled. At the time of the original investigation officers placed paper bags over her hands and those bags were preserved as evidence. Trace material on those bags produced genetic material that ultimately linked the case to Groves.
The sheriff’s office Cold Case Unit reopened the Fisher investigation in early 2025 and resubmitted preserved evidence for advanced DNA analysis. In late October forensic analysts obtained a case to case match in the national DNA index linking the material to DNA associated with Groves from three homicides in 1979. Groves died in custody in 1996. The sheriff’s office described this resolution as one of several cold case successes achieved in recent years and highlighted the role of careful evidence preservation.
For the community the outcome carries practical value on several levels. It illustrates how advances in DNA technology can extract probative material from trace evidence collected decades ago, and it provides a path to answers for families who have waited years for closure. Preservation of crime scene materials in original condition can be crucial. Verify information and case status with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Unit for updates and any statements from investigators.
This development also reinforces the importance of submitting and reexamining legacy evidence as forensic methods improve. Other cold cases can benefit when law enforcement reopens files, retests preserved items, and uses modern databases to compare profiles. For neighbors, family members, and advocates the case is a reminder that long dormant investigations can be revived, and that persistent documentation and custody of evidence can make the difference between mystery and resolution.
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