ORLANDO, Fla. – Fifteen years after a 25-year-old University of Central Florida student was found dead in her apartment, Orlando police say they are hoping a DNA composite will lead to new leads in the cold case.
Christine Franke was a bartender at Cigarz, a now closed Universal Orlando restaurant, and was studying at UCF for a career in education when she was shot in the head on Oct. 21, 2001. Friends found her body at her Audubon Park apartment.
At a press conference on Friday, the Orlando Police Department said they worked with Parabon's Snapshot DNA Phenotyping Service in this case to produce a composite sketch of an African American male who would have been 25 year old, with an average body-mass index of 22, officials said.
Officials say the composite is based on DNA and may note be an exact replica of appearance.
In 2001, investigators said Franke was killed sometime between 4:30 a.m. and 3:15 a.m.
The case went cold fewer than three months after the homicide, the Orlando Sentinel reported in 2002.
While there was DNA evidence at the scene of the crime, there was never a match to any potential leads, police said.
“Thanks to some new technology, and a grant from the National Institute of Justice, the Orlando Police Department has some new information in its continuing investigation into Christine's murder,” according to a news release.
If you have any information, police urge you to call Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS.