Is Nacole Smith’s Killer, Kelvin Arnold, alive? We discuss the 2023 Hulu true crime series Cold Case Files: DNA Speaks with details that some readers may find disturbing.
One of the most popular subgenres in true crime is the cold case.
Cold cases are crimes that have gone unsolved for many years but remain open, hoping that new evidence may appear, finally allowing authorities to solve them. For fans of true crime, and there are a lot of you out there, the resolution of a cold case is incredibly satisfying,
Hulu has a ten-episode series that covers a different case in each episode and provides new details about old cases. One such case is the horrific and disturbing case of Nacole Smith.
The attack and murder of fourteen-year-old Nacole is a shocking story that rocked a community and led to a decades-long investigation.
As technology evolves, so does the ability to explore evidence and finally discover the identity of those behind some truly awful crimes, and advancement in DNA mapping is one of the tools used in many of the cases on this show.
This article looks at one terrible case and answers the question: Is Kelvin Arnold alive? The man behind the murder of Nacole Smith
Who is Kelvin Arnold, and what did he do?
The official synopsis of the first episode of Cold Case Files: DNA Speaks from Hulu states: “When 14-year-old Nacole Smith is brutally murdered in 1995 on a wooded path in Atlanta, the police and community rally around her mother as she seeks justice. It will take decades and a second brutal assault to finally reveal Nacole’s killer.”
Rapist and murderer Kelvin Arnold would commit the heinous crime and go undetected by the police.
Arnold was twenty-three at the time of his first attack and was a local to the area in Atlanta.
How did Kelvin Arnold kill Nacole Smith?
He would attack Nacole when she was on the way home from school, sexually assaulting her and then shooting the defenseless girl twice. Nacole’s lifeless body would be found by a security guard working the trail where the event happened.
A man was seen running from the area, and the description would be the basis for a composite sketch circulated in connection with the crime.
However, this did not help identify Arnold, and he would escape authorities, striking again nine years later.
Is Kelvin Arnold alive?
No, the killer, Kelvin Arnold, is now dead, but he would evade justice until after he died. Advancements in DNA investigation would result in a match being made with Arnold, who had also attacked another young girl nine years after murdering Nacole.
Police knew that the two crimes were linked but could not find who the disturbed perpetrator was.
In a twist of fate, Arnold would die of cancer, his internal organs failing in 2021.
He was never officially brought to justice for his terrible crimes.
