CALEDONIA TOWNSHIP, Mich. — A 26-year journey for justice in the death of 29-year-old Sharon Hammack ended last week with the arrest of her alleged murderer.
Hammack was found dead on 76th street in Caledonia Township in 1996. Hammack was a mother of two, and pregnant, when she was found strangled and sexually assaulted.
Family never gave up on finding answers for Sharon, and law enforcement says — they never did either.
“We remember the persons whose life was cut short... and the impact they still have on their family, on their friends, on the people who loved them. That’s why we continue to work cold cases,” Kent County Sheriff Michelle Lajoye-Young said.
This case involved a unique usage of DNA searches. In order to apprehend Hammack's alleged abuser, the sheriff's office worked with Michigan State Police to run what's called an "FGG" DNA test through an organization called "Identifinders," which conducts forensic genealogy searches of DNA.
“These private FGG companies are developing a sequence. Without getting too technical, they’re basically looking at each base pair of DNA, they’re looking for singular nuclei. You’re going to share those with your relatives. So if I was to send my DNA into Ancestry DNA ... or whatever it may be, there’s a consent form, a box you can check that says 'I will share this information with law enforcement,'” Michigan State Police Forensic DNA Analyzer Joel Schultze said.
The search develops a pool of candidates, not just one specific match. The DNA preserved from 1996 in Hammack's case was used in the search. Then detectives come into play, narrowing down the search in cases that have long since gone cold.
Garry Dean Artman was arrested for killing Hammack after hours of investigation by Kent County Sheriff's Office detectives. The County Prosecutor charged Artman, who was arrested in Mississippi.
“It had to take the progression of the technology that we have in terms of DNA to bring a solution to this case. I know most of you would like to know, 'well what was that?' Unfortunately, they’re all bound by the same rules of ethical conduct,” Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker said.
Once Artman is in Michigan, his DNA will be tested and cross-referenced with other cold cases in Kent County. The sheriff's department will open up their findings to the surrounding area, as well as other states who could use their findings to help potentially close other cold cases. It's unknown if Artman has more than one alleged victim.
Family of Sharon says they have no idea who Artman is, and there was no prior connection to Sharon, until this most recent discovery.
