Gov. Susana Martinez is touting more success from a DNA testing law that bears the name of a New Mexico college student who was murdered in 2003.
Martinez announced Friday an 88 percent increase in matches by the New Mexico DNA Identification System thanks to the expanded Katie’s Law. She says the system has matched DNA from 463 arrestees to 478 cases since 2011.
The law was named in memory of Kathryn Sepich, a New Mexico State University student whose killer was identified with DNA evidence after he was convicted of another crime.
The original law, passed in 2006, required DNA samples from suspects arrested for violent felonies such as murder, kidnapping, robbery, burglary and sex offenses. The 2011 revision extends the testing requirement to all felonies.
