Broward County

Broward detectives say they’ve solved a 12-year-old murder and have arrested a suspect

In September 2022, BSO detectives made an arrest in a 12-year-old murder case from 2010.
In September 2022, BSO detectives made an arrest in a 12-year-old murder case from 2010.

The Broward Sheriff’s Office announced Friday that its detectives have solved a 12-year-old murder and that a suspect has been arrested.

BSO said forensic evidence and witness interviews, along with “persistent detective work,” led homicide investigators to identify a possible suspect, Aaron Michael Dobbins, in May. Dobbins, 51, was ultimately arrested on a premeditated murder charge in Hillsborough County on Sept. 22. Dobbins was brought back to Broward.

“A search warrant for Dobbins’ DNA and subsequent testing found that his DNA matched the evidence gathered 12 years ago” inside a house in the 1300 block of Northeast 34th Street in Oakland Park, detectives said.

According to deputies, on Aug. 30, 2010, the sheriff’s deputies responded to a call of a suspicious incident at an Oakland Park home. When they got inside, they found Alfred McMurray, 31, face down on the floor with a gunshot wound. McMurray’s car and other personal items were missing from his home.

Back then, after conducting numerous interviews and gathering evidence from the murder scene, detectives could not identify a clear suspect.

But new information in May, 12 years later, led homicide detectives to learn that Dobbins lived in Oakland Park during the time of the murder and knew McMurray through Dobbins’ roommate.

“Investigators said based on the information gathered and evidence collected in this case, they believe Dobbins is responsible for the murder,” BSO said on Friday.

Court records show that the Tampa-born Dobbins faces one count of first-degree murder and he is being held without bond in the Broward County Main Jail.

Howard Cohen
Miami Herald
Miami Herald consumer trends reporter Howard Cohen, a 2017 Media Excellence Awards winner, has covered pop music, theater, health and fitness, obituaries, municipal government, breaking news and general assignment. He started his career in the Features department at the Miami Herald in 1991. Cohen is an adjunct professor at the University of Miami School of Communication. Support my work with a digital subscription
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