How a discarded cigarette and bitten Styrofoam cup led Pennsylvania police to a 2012 cold case murder suspect

A discarded cigarette in New Jersey has led to an arrest in a 12-year-old murder case.

The tossed cancer stick saw 39-year-old Vallis L. Slaughter cuffed last week at his mother's home in North Jersey, a month after cops secretly obtained DNA from it while it was still lit.

They went on to compare it to genetic material taken from a Styrofoam cup found at the scene some 12 years ago, in an entirely different state. 

There, on March 24, 2012, 34-year-old Julio Torres was shot and killed while sitting inside his vehicle outside the West Reading Diner, a popular spot in Pennsylvania.

Surveillance video from the diner showed the suspect and another cuffed in connection with the case holding the to-go cups seconds before the shots rang out. 

More than a decade later, Slaughter is facing charges of murder and conspiracy to commit homicide, as he's accused of another murder in New York. He is currently jailed, awaiting extradition.

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Vallis L. Slaughter, 39, was cuffed last week at his mother's home in New Jersey, a month after detectives obtained DNA from the just-tossed butt

The smoking gun - this time a cigarette - that got Slaughter arrested. Officials said they saw him toss the butt on February 9, 2024, on the sidewalk outside his mom's home on the 200 block of Fulton Avenue in Jersey City

Cops in the cold case division who carried out the arrest announced the breakthrough at a news conference Monday, presided over by Berks County District Attorney John T. Adams.

'Today, we are here to announce the arrest of Vallis L. Slaughter, 39 years of age, from the 200 block of Fulton Avenue, Jersey City, New Jersey,' Adams told reporters crowded in the DA's office in Reading, Pennsylvania. 

'Slaughter was arrested for homicide,' he continued.

'This homicide occurred on Saturday, March 24, 2012, in the early morning hours - three in the morning, to be more precise - at the West Reading Diner.'

Before getting into cops from his task force honed in on Slaughter, Adams reiterated: 'This case emanates from 2012, almost 12 years ago to the date.'

Adams proceeded to outline the violent encounter, during which a man believed to be Slaughter, another suspect and the victim got into a verbal altercation outside the eatery.

'This took place when [the] 34 year-old, Julio Torres... was shot and killed while seated inside his vehicle in the [diner's] parking lot.'

Both suspects got away, but were seen in surveillance footage outside the establishment, stills of which were produced by Adams as he spoke.

He was subsequently cuffed for the murder of then-34-year-old Julio Torres who was shot and killed while sitting inside his vehicle outside the West Reading Diner on March 24, 2012

Surveillance video from the diner showed the suspect and another holding the to-go cups seconds before the shots rang out

Both suspects got away, but were seen in surveillance footage outside the establishment

More than a decade later, Slaughter - seen here holding a Styrofoam cup seconds before the shooting - is facing charges of murder and conspiracy to commit homicide. Cops later used DNA on the tossed cup to identify him

The West Reading Diner in West Reading, Pennsylvania, where the fatal encounter took place

Cops eventually seized the cups seen being held by the suspects as evidence, though were not able to identify a suspect for more than a decade due to his DNA not being present in their databases

'On May 9th, soon after this incident,' he continued, 'a joint investigation was conducted by the West Reading Borough Police Department the Berks County District Attorney's Office [Cold Case] Detective Unit and the DA's major crime task force,' officials said Monday

'On May 9th, soon after this incident,' he continued, 'a joint investigation was conducted by the West Reading Borough Police Department the Berks County District Attorney's Office [Cold Case] Detective Unit and the DA's major crime task force.

'This initial investigation resulted in the arrest of Jomaine Case,' he revealed.

The other suspect involved in the shooting was filmed hitting the victim in the head before Slaughter allegedly fired the fatal shots, and was at first charged with homicide weeks later.

However, thanks in large part to the confiscated footage, he was hit with a five-year sentence in 2013 for simple and aggravated assault - after cops determined he was not the one to pull the trigger.

'Despite the arrest of [Case] and his subsequent conviction for his involvement in this shooting,' Adams said, 'the person responsible for pulling the trigger and shooting [Torres] was never identified.'

Referencing the footage, he went on: 'This investigation showed that just prior to the shooting, Case and [the] unknown shooter became involved in a verbal dispute with the victim in the parking lot of the [diner].'

Pulling up surveillance stills, he began to explain how cops from his cold case division capitalized on evidence garnered at the time. 

In 2012, a photograph of Slaughter - seen here - was taken with a cellular phone by an alleged associate at a party sometime before the homicide. The photo was extracted as another piece of evidence, eventually used to nail him as the alleged shooter

'In the video that you see here - those still pictures were taken from the video from the West Reading Diner back in March of 2012 - the victim was shot and killed, and there was no information uncovered that would indicate that Torres... knew the shooters,' Adams said.

'To date, we have never determined what the motive was for this shooting, other than some senseless dispute,' he added. 

'During the investigation, surveillance footage was reviewed from the diner, and detectives observed that both [Case] and the unidentified shooter were holding Styrofoam cups, which you can depict in that picture there. 

He said the stills came from snippets recorded just seconds before the shooting took place. 

'The cups were collected from the crime scene, back in March of 2012, by the Berks County District Attorney's Office forensic unit, including a bitten off piece from one of the cups,' he said.

'The cups and bitten piece were sent to the Pennsylvania State Police forensic crime laboratory for DNA analysis, [and] an unknown male DNA profile was developed from the bitten off piece.' 

The sample, however, did not match any DNA in any of the DA's databases, Adams said, admitting, 'So, we were kind of left where, we had DNA but we could not match it to anyone.'

'On February 9th, 2024, surveillance units observed Slaughter walking on the sidewalk in the 200 block of Fulton Avenue in Jersey City, New Jersey,' officials said what predated the suspect arrest this past week

'Slaughter could be seen smoking a cigarette prior to entering his mother's residence,' they said, producing photos where the still-lit butt was tossed . The DNA was compared to the profile previously submitted from the investigation,  obtained from the Styrofoam cup

However, 'an additional DNA profile, which was linked to Jomaine Case, was found on one the other Styrofoam cup,' leading cops to make that arrest.

An investigation continued 'for many years,' the DA continued, revealing these efforts at some point revealed the shooter may have been from New York City or northern Jersey area.

'He was merely visiting Reading the night of this crime,' he said of Slaughter, who is currently confined in Hudson County Correctional Facility in Kearney, New Jersey, awaiting extradition to the Garden state.

'But without any additional information tips,' Adams continued, 'the identity of the shooter has remained unknown until recently.'

But that changed late last year, when detectives in Berks County, at the DA's behest, reopened the case. 

'In 2023, as part of our Cold Case initiative launched by the Berks County District Attorney's Office, this investigation was reviewed and re-examined by Berks County detectives and the West Reading Borough Police Department,' Adams said.

'In 2012, a photograph of the alleged shooter was taken with a cellular phone by an alleged associate at a party sometime before this homicide,' he then revealed, producing the still of the suspect.

'This photograph was extracted from the cellular phone and retained by investigators,' he said, showing the photograph.

'That photo is depicted on the board as we speak.'

'an additional DNA profile, which was linked to Jomaine Case, was found on one the other Styrofoam cup,' leading cops to make that arrest.

Thanks in part to the confiscated footage, Case - seen here after his arrest - was hit with a five year sentence in 2013 for simple and aggravated assault, after cops determined he was not the one to pull the trigger

Then, in November 2023, he said investigators utilized facial recognition software to assist in identifying the subject in the photo. 

'As a result, investigators determined that Slaughter, originally from the Brooklyn, New York, area, was the person likely depicted in this photograph,' the DA declared.

A month later, in December 2023, detectives discovered Slaughter to residing with his mother in Jersey City, New Jersey - spurring several weeks of heavy surveillance.

'Surveillance was conducted at that Jersey City address by not only Berks County detectives, but we received assistance from authorities in Jersey City, New Jersey, which was very helpful to us,' Adams said, before revealing the big breakthrough in the case.

'On February 9th, 2024, surveillance units observed Slaughter walking on the sidewalk in the 200 block of Fulton Avenue in Jersey City, New Jersey. 

'Slaughter could be seen smoking a cigarette prior to entering his mother's residence,' he said.

'He discarded this cigarette onto the sidewalk. The cigarette butt, which was still smoldering, was then collected by detectives and sent to the Pennsylvania State Police forensic crime laboratory for DNA analysis.

'This DNA was compared to the profile previously submitted from this investigation,' Adams went on to reveal. 'That DNA profile was obtained from the Styrofoam cup at the scene of the West Reading Diner back in March of 2012.'

Cops in the cold case division that carried out the arrest announced the breakthrough at a news conference Monday, presided over by Berks County District Attorney John T. Adams

Eventually, in March of 2024, forensics specialists in Pennsylvania found that the DNA extracted from the thrown filter matched the DNA previously identified on the bitten piece of Styrofoam cup, Adams said.

'As a result, detectives from my office obtained - and the West ring Police Department - obtained an arrest warrant for the defendant. That arrest warrant was issued by magisterial District Justice Eric Taylor.'

He then laid bare the circumstances of the suspect's arrest, 'carried out on Wednesday March 20, 2024, at approximately 6:15 am.'

Citing cooperation provided by New Jersey authorities -  specifically the Jersey City Police Department - Adams said: 'The defendant was taken into custody by the Jersey City New Jersey Police Department at his mother's residence in Jersey City.

He said the Jersey City Police Department SWAT teams assisted with the arrest, and that at this time, officials are waiting on the defendant to be extradited from Pennsylvania to New Jersey. 

'The defendant Vallis Slaughter is awaiting extradition, [and] is being held without bail in Hudson County Correctional Facility as we speak,' he said.

'Again, this suspect was originally from Brooklyn, and is a suspect in a homicide in Brooklyn. We are aware of that.

'This is another example of the fact that we are not going to give up, and if we can continue to pursue justice for the victim, we will do so,' Adams said of the 12-year-old crime, which is still being vetted

Not detailing that case, he went on to praise the various departments and agencies he said made the arrest this past week possible.

He said. 'We worked with the NYPD during this investigation, and I just want to say, again, great job - a great job by my detective unit and the West Reading Borough Police Department in not putting this case to rest.

'This is one of those cases where we had DNA and we really did a great job,' he continued.

'Just having that DNA sample isn't enough - but we were able to utilize technology to identify this individual, then we have confirmed that identification with DNA. 

'This is another example of the fact that we are not going to give up, and if we can continue to pursue justice for the victim, we will do so.'