PORTSMOUTH, NH – Investigators on Thursday announced the identity of a man wanted in connection with the murder of a 23-year-old woman in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
Ronney James Lee, who died of acute cocaine poisoning at the age of 45 in February 2005, is the man responsible for the murder of Laura Kempton on the morning of September 28, 1981, New Hampshire Attorney General John M. Formella, and the Portsmouth police. Chief Mark Newport said during a joint news conference.
Officers attempting to serve a subpoena found Kempton dead in her apartment with massive blunt force trauma to the left side of her head that September morning. Kempton was last seen walking into her apartment alone after a night out with a friend.
Physical evidence collected at the Kempton murder scene revealed a male DNA profile years later. Over the next four decades, investigators pursued hundreds of leads and possible suspects, but were unable to identify the perpetrator.
In 2022, the Portsmouth Police Department, in partnership with the New Hampshire State Police Forensic Laboratory, the Maine State Police Forensic Laboratory, the Attorney General’s Cold Case Unit and Identifinders International, used forensic genetic genealogy technology to identify Lee, who was 21 years old. at the time of Kempton’s homicide, Formella and Newport said.
If Lee were still alive, authorities said they would have sought alternative charges of first-degree murder for knowingly causing Kempton’s death before, after or while engaged in the commission or while attempting to commit aggravated sexual assault.
“I hope this conclusion and announcement is the long-awaited first step in providing the closure that the criminal justice system can offer Laura Kempton’s family and community,” Formella said. “The Portsmouth Police Department should be commended for their commitment and perseverance in seeking justice for Ms. Kempton and her family. I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to the members of the Cold Case Unit of our Office and to all of our law enforcement associates who participated in the investigation and ultimately the resolution of this case.”
Since Lee is dead, the cold case will now be closed and identified as “solved” with no arrests or prosecutions.
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