More than a decade after a man was shot and killed outside a Pennsylvania diner, police have made an arrest in the cold case thanks, in part, to a piece of a Styrofoam cup and a cigarette butt.
The murder of Julio Torres
On March 24, 2012, at 3:36 a.m., Julio Torres, 34, was shot and killed while sitting inside his vehicle in the parking lot of the West Reading Diner in West Reading, Pennsylvania.
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On May 9, 2012, Jomaine Case, who was 22 at the time, was arrested in connection to the shooting. While Case was later convicted for his involvement in the incident, investigators determined he was not the person who shot and killed Torres. Police said Case and an unidentified gunman had argued with Torres in the parking lot of the diner. Torres was then shot and killed shortly after. Police said there was no information that indicated that Torres knew Case or the unidentified gunman prior to the shooting.
A bitten off Styrofoam cup
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Surveillance video from the diner showed Case and the gunman holding Styrofoam cups just prior to the shooting. Those cups, including one with a bitten off piece, were collected from the crime scene as evidence.
The cups and bitten piece were sent to the Pennsylvania State Police Forensic Crime Laboratory for DNA analysis. An unknown man’s DNA profile was developed from the bitten-off piece but didn’t match any of the samples contained within existing DNA databases. Another DNA profile, which was linked to Case, was also found on one of the Styrofoam cups.
The investigation revealed that the gunman was from New York City and visiting the area of Reading, Pennsylvania, on the night of the shooting. The gunman remained unidentified for several years.
Photos of the suspect
In 2023, the investigation was reviewed and re-examined by the Berks County Detectives Unit and West Reading Police Department as part of a cold case initiative launched by the Berks County District Attorney’s Office.
In 2012, a picture of the alleged gunman was taken with a cellphone by an associate at a party prior to Torres’ murder. The photo was extracted from the phone and retained by investigators.
In November 2023, investigators used facial-recognition software to help identify the person in the photo. Investigators later determined Vallis Slaughter, 39, originally from Brooklyn, New York, was the person likely in the picture.
In December 2023, Slaughter was found living with his mother in Jersey City, New Jersey, investigators said. Investigators then conducted surveillance at the Jersey City address.
A cigarette butt helps lead to an arrest
On Feb. 9, 2024, investigators spotted Slaughter walking on the sidewalk and smoking a cigarette on the 200 block of Fulton Avenue in Jersey City, officials said. Before entering his mother’s home, Slaughter threw his cigarette onto the sidewalk, according to investigators. The cigarette butt, which was still smoldering, was then collected by detectives and sent to the Pennsylvania State Police Forensic Crime Laboratory for DNA comparison to the DNA profile that was initially developed in the case.
In March 2024, the Pennsylvania State Police Forensic Crime Laboratory told investigators that the DNA extracted from the cigarette butt matched the DNA profile initially identified on the bitten piece of the Styrofoam cup.
The arrest of Vallis Slaughter
On Monday, March 18, West Reading Police and the Berks County District Attorney’s Detectives Unit obtained an arrest warrant for Slaughter.
On March 20, around 6:15 a.m., Slaughter was taken into custody by Jersey City Police at his mother’s home, officials said. He is charged with murder, criminal conspiracy, aggravated assault and other related offenses.
Slaughter is being held at the Hudson County Correctional Facility in New Jersey and is awaiting extradition to Berks County, Pennsylvania.
