Calhoun County, AL – On Friday, July 22, 2022, at 11:00 am Calhoun County Sheriff, Matthew Wade, conducted a press conference to provide update to the attacker in the July 4, 2022, Betty Cobb kidnapping criminal case. Tony Lamar White was identified as the suspect and immediately fled the State of Alabama. A manhunt resulted in an arrest in Lexington, KY by the highway patrol and White was brought back to Calhoun County and is currently incarcerated with a $4,000,000 bond.
Sheriff Wade began the press conference by speaking about two previous sexual assaults that occurred in 2012 and 2013 that had strong similarities to the most recent with Betty Cobb. The case in 2012 occurred in Calhoun County where a woman was followed home from a dollar general store and was attacked and raped. Investigators were able to find DNA but there were no matches found and no suspects were identified. The victim in that case passed away in 2017 but the case remained active to ensure she would have justice. The second case occurred in Talladega County in July of 2013 where a woman was followed home and attacked in her residence. DNA was collected during the investigation, but the cases went cold. The only thing that investigators had was a composite sketch of the suspect, which remained up on the wall until recently.
The Sheriff went on to explain that the DNA from the Calhoun County case and the Talladega County case were a match with each other but not to anyone that was identified in CODIS (Combined DNA Index System).
Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office, Captain Joey Stone, explained the details of the DNA and how it has led to identifying White to the other cases. “When somebody is arrested in our jail for violent crime, for felony crimes, we take their DNA, and we submit it to the Alabama Department of Forensic Science”. Capt. Stone stated. Capt. Stone explained that the DNA evidence is then handled by forensic scientists who ultimately upload the information into CODIS in an attempt to compare the collected DNA against any potentially open cases. CODIS is a federally run program and law enforcement agencies across the United States can upload DNA evidence to be compared everywhere. If a crime was committed in one state and DNA evidence is identified, it will be uploaded then if it matches the results are given to the investigators. If there is no match the evidence remains active until a match shows up, as it did in this case. Capt. Stone advised that when they collected White’s DNA and submitted it, there was a match to the 2012 case that still pending. When asked if the DNA was also linked to Betty Cobb, he advised that the evidence in that case is still being processed and we expect the results in a future “but we have, even without DNA evidence, I believe that that case, stands on its own through evidence that we have.”
Sheriff Wade also explained that although there is a preliminary hit on the DNA there is still more investigating that needs to be done before White can be formally charged with the additional crimes.
Calhoun County Assistant District Attorney, Eric Snyder, will be prosecuting the case with the assistance of First Assistant, Laura Phillips. ADA Snyder advised that White has a preliminary hearing this coming Monday at 1:30 pm. He went on to explain, “At that time we’ll be moving under Aniah’s Law, to seek to have a no bond. Given the threat this this man poses in our community.” Currently White has $4,000,000 in bail bonds but due to the new developments, the District Attorney’s Office is going to file a motion to hold him in jail with no bond pending trial.
Aniah’s Law was an Alabama Constitutional Amendment that now allows a broader area for prosecutors to request that certain crimes be held without bail. The legislation is named for Aniah Blanchard, a 19-year-old Alabama college student who was kidnapped and murdered in October 2019. The suspect was out on bond for separate charges of kidnapping and attempted murder when he kidnapped Aniah at a gas station.
To see the full press conference please view below.
