DNA match found in killing of UMass student and congressional intern
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Prosecutors allege DNA evidence linked two teenagers accused in the shooting death of a University of Massachusetts student who was working as a congressional intern in Washington, D.C., last summer.
Government attorneys told Washington, D.C. Superior Court Judge Danya Dayson at a status hearing Friday that tests on bullet casings found at the scene provided a “huge statistical match” to Jailen Lucas and that DNA also linked Kelvin Thomas to the shooting.
The two suspects, who were both 17 at the time of the shooting, are charged as adults with first-degree murder while armed in the killing of Eric Tarpinian-Jachym, 21, of Granby, Massachusetts.
Suspect arrested months after shooting of congressional intern and 17-year-old: OFFICIAL
Eric Tarpinian-Jachym was shot and killed on June 30, 2025. (Taken from Fox News)
Prosecutors said two rounds of DNA testing have been completed and additional expert testimony regarding DNA analysis, ballistics and fingerprint evidence is expected at trial.
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Tarpinian-Jachym, a senior at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, was shot June 30 at the intersection of 7th Street and M Street NW in Washington.
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He was spending the summer in Washington as a congressional intern for Republican Rep. Ron Estes of Kansas.
Kelvin Thomas Jr. (left) and Jailen Lucas (right) face first-degree murder charges in the June 30 killing of Eric Tarpinian-Jachym. (Metropolitan Police Department)
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Authorities said three armed suspects got out of a stolen vehicle and opened fire on two people in the area.
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Tarpinian-Jachym, who was not involved in the incident, was shot four times. He died the next day.
The Metropolitan Police Department has released more photos of Naqwan Lucas. (Metropolitan Police Department)
Lucas and Thomas were arrested on September 5. On October 31, a third suspect, identified as Naqwan Antonio Lucas, 18, of the District of Columbia, was arrested in Montgomery Village and also charged with the murder of Tarpinian-Jachym.
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The preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 15. The trial is expected to begin in February. Tarpinian-Jachym’s mother declined to comment when contacted by Fox News Digital.
Fox News Digital’s Adam Sabes contributed to this report.
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