A 44-year-old man will likely spend the rest of his life in prison after being convicted Tuesday of murdering a man more than 18 years ago and raping the man’s girlfriend twice.
Gregory D. Tamplin knocked on the apartment door of the victims around 1 a.m. Nov. 13, 1990, according to Deputy Pima County Attorney Shawn Jensvold.
When the 18-year-old woman opened the door, Tamplin forced her into the bedroom where Ronald Taylor, 20, was standing. After forcing Taylor to get on the bed, Tamplin shot Taylor four times, killing him and then he raped the woman twice.
When Tamplin arrived at the home he’d told the victims they owed him money and when he left, he took a bicycle, watch and $5 worth of quarters, Jensvold said.
There is no evidence Tamplin knew either victim, Jensvold said.
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Tucson police detectives were unable to solve the case until two years ago. In June 2007, detectives requested DNA be extracted from blood found on a carpet and the sexual assault kit performed on the woman and entered into a national database.
The DNA was matched to Tamplin, whose DNA was entered into the database following a 1996 conviction for attempted sexual assault and other crimes.
The alleged rape victim later picked Tamplin out from a photo lineup, saying “I have problem with # 5, just a feeling.” Tamplin was the fifth person in a six-person photo lineup.
Tamplin was also convicted Tuesday on two counts of sexual assault, two counts of armed robbery and one count each of kidnapping, aggravated assault and first-degree burglary.
During closing arguments Friday, Assistant Pima County Public Defender Darlene Edminson-O’Brien attacked the alleged victim’s credibility, the fairness of the photo lineup and the crime lab that performed the DNA testing.
Edminson-O’Brien pointed out inconsistencies in the woman’s story and listed a number of instances in which DNA evidence was contaminated at the crime lab around the same time it was working on Taylor’s case.
The woman couldn’t have seen her attacker because he was behind her during most of the incident and it was dark inside the apartment, Edminson-O’Brien said.
Still, the woman claims she was able to identify him nearly 17 years after the attack, Edminson-O’Brien said.
Perhaps, the defense attorney said, it was because the color of Tamplin’s photo was noticeably different than the other men shown in the photo lineup, making him “stand out like a sore thumb.”
“There is nothing to tie Mr. Tamplin to Mr. Taylor,” Edminson-O’Brien said, pointing out detectives have no murder weapon, no fingerprints and no motive.
According to the Arizona Department of Corrections Web site, Tamplin is already serving time in prison for being convicted of crimes including attempted sexual assault, second-degree burglary, aggravated robbery and theft. He faces a sentence of life with or without the possibility of parole for the murder and additional time for the charges.
Judge Kenneth Lee will sentence Tamplin Aug. 24.
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