DA, defense spar over DNA as grandson goes on trial in 1988 murder of grandmother in Erie

Forensic DNA technology was still developing when 77-year-old Helen Vogt was stabbed 51 times and murdered in her Erie townhouse in July 1988.

In the three decades since then, DNA technology has advanced so much that, starting in 2020, investigators in the Vogt case said they finally matched blood found in her apartment to another person: her grandson, Jeremy C. Brock, now 57.

The DNA evidence is the centerpiece of Brock's long-awaited trial on murder and robbery charges. He is accused of killing his maternal grandmother over money.

The prosecution and defense both cited the DNA evidence as they presented their opening statements in Brock's trial on Wednesday in Erie County Common Pleas Court. Their positions could not have been more different.

The prosecution said the DNA proves Brock killed his grandmother 36 years ago. His DNA, the prosecution said, was found in blood taken from four spots in Vogt's townhouse, including from a washcloth left in the bathtub after what appeared to be a rushed effort to clean up after the murder.

"The defendant's DNA is there because he was there the night of Helen's murder," First Assistant District Attorney Jessica Reger told the jury. "His DNA is there because he did it."

Brock's court-appointed lawyer, Jason Nard, of Pittsburgh, said the case involves more than DNA, and he asked the jury to disregard the scientific evidence.

He said the prosecution has no travel or financial records to prove that Brock was in Erie when his grandmother was killed. Brock, then 21, was living in California and then Texas in 1988, Nard said.

"Do not fall for that red herring," Nard told the jury. "We will give you multiple reasons as to why that DNA is not applicable in that scenario. That's all they have."

He and the prosecutors — Reger and District Attorney Elizabeth Hirz — will detail their cases as the trial unfolds over the next four to five days in the courtroom of Judge Daniel Brabender.

An Erie cold case thaws over time

The Vogt case for decades stood out as one of Erie's most baffling unsolved homicides. Vogt was killed on July 22-23, 1988, and the investigation started when her battered body was found inside her townhouse in the 2800 block of Zimmerman Road, at the corner of Davison Avenue, in Erie on July 23, 1988.

Blood was strewn throughout the residence, located on a quiet spot in east Erie, to the rear of where a Walmart is today. Vogt suffered stab wounds to her hands, face, neck, chest and back. She also had been beaten.

Vogt's townhouse, where she lived alone and which she kept "neat as a pin," was in disarray, with drawers rummaged through, Reger said in her opening statement.

Erie police collected evidence and searched for clues. And though blood evidence was plentiful, Reger said, "DNA was in its infancy. Remember, this is 1988."

"The case," Reger said, "went cold."

The investigation advanced in 2020. Investigators resubmitted the washcloth and other evidence for testing with the Pennsylvania State Police's Forensic DNA Division.

The division by then had developed technology that allowed for the testing of evidence that contained small amounts of blood, state police said when Brock was charged. When Vogt was killed, the tested material had to include at least a quarter-size blood stain, the state police said.

Also until around 2020, state police said, investigators lacked the technology to test evidence for mixed DNA profiles — profiles believed to include blood from multiple sources, such as in the Vogt case.

Police finally get results from search warrant

Erie police got blood samples from Brock when they executed a search warrant on him in Texas in September 1990. Investigators had developed him as a possible suspect based on information that he was upset with Vogt, in part, over the amount of the monthly allowance she was sending him, according to the search warrant's affidavit of probable cause.

The samples police got from Brock in 1990 yielded no DNA matches until the testing techniques improved.

Investigators used the new DNA techniques to match Brock's DNA to DNA found on the bloody washcloth and on three other spots in Vogt's townhouse, according to arrest records.

Police cited the DNA results when Brock was charged on July 14, 2022, when he was living in Travis County, Texas, which includes Austin. He is accused of first-degree and second-degree murder, robbery, aggravated assault and other counts.

Evidence revisits a scene of violence

Though the Vogt case originated more than three decades ago, the level of its violence continues to carry the ability to shock.

On Wednesday, as she presented evidence, Hirz showed the jury a photo of Vogt's body as it was found next to her bed on July 23, 1988. The photo could be seen from the courtroom gallery, where a group of six of Vogt's relatives were sitting.

The photo showed Vogt's body covered in blood.

A member of Vogt's group cried when she saw it.

Contact Ed Palattella at epalattella@timesnews.com or 814-870-1813. Follow him on X @ETNpalattella.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: DNA becomes key as trial opens in 1988 killing of Erie's Helen Vogt