Forensic testing leads to arrest in 1988 Roxbury murder, DA says

BOSTON — A Dorchester man will be arraigned on murder charges Friday in connection with the 1988 stabbing death of a Roxbury woman, Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden announced Thursday.

James Holloman, 65, will be arraigned on a first-degree murder charge in Suffolk Superior Court in connection with the death of 25-year-old Karen Taylor, Hayden said.

Taylor’s mother found her daughter lying in a pool of blood in her Roxbury apartment after Taylor’s daughter said she couldn’t wake her mother up. Hayden says Taylor had been found stabbed 15 times to her chest, head and neck area.

Investigators used forensic testing on fingernail scrapings from Taylor’s right hand to produce a full profile of an unknown male suspect. Last year, Boston police obtained a sample of Holloman’s DNA and matched it to the DNA found on Taylor’s fingernails.

Holloman was arrested by Boston police’s fugitive unit Thursday afternoon.

“This is an example of superb investigative work by detectives and prosecutors using modern criminology science, but most of all it’s an opportunity for Karen Taylor’s loved ones to see someone answer for her death after so many years of unanswered questions,” Hayden said in a statement.

The DA’s office says more details will be released during Friday’s arraignment.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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