TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — Additional information was obtained by ABC 27 in the 1996 murder of James Branner allegedly by Alan Lefferts.
In 2021, new genealogy testing showed the DNA belonged to a member of the Lefferts family.
In April, 2022, Lefferts was pinpointed as a possible suspect.
The Tallahassee Police Department also learned Lefferts had gone to prison in 1979 and was released in 1989 for the rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl.
TPD matched Lefferts' fingerprints to those found on the motel room telephone.
The Tallahassee Police Department says it believes Branner and Lefferts knew each other and that they registered for the hotel room together under the names Jim and Al Branner.
Lefferts was arrested May 31, 2022 is is charged with first degree murder of Branner.
Branner was found dead July 2, 1996 in a motel room on the 700 block of North Monroe Street.
