Joseph Eli Moss is charged with the murder of Edward Sides. Moss faces First Degree Murder, Third Degree Murder and Possession of an Instrument of Crime.
The charge stems back to February 7, 2007 when police were called out to the report of a stabbing in the rear yard of 35 King Street.
The responding officers found Edward Lee Sides suffering from multiple stab wounds to his neck and torso. He later died at Reading Hospital.
Through the course of their investigation, police recovered a wooden handled butcher knife covered in blood close to where Sides' body was found. Investigators also found a tan Timberland jacket hidden behind a trash can approximately 100 yards from the crime scene. The front and right sleeve of the jacket was covered in blood.
A DNA analysis later revealed that the blood on the jacket, and on the butcher knife matched that of victim. In addition, an unknown DNA profile was obtained from the inside left sleeve and collar portion of the jacket. The DNA profile was uploaded into CODIS (Convicted Offender and Prior Casework Profiles) database and matched that of Joseph Eli Moss.
In December 2009, a Pennsylvania State Police forensic scientist concluded that Moss was the contributor of the DNA profile recovered from the jacket. The forensic report states the probability of selecting an unrelated individual is approximately 1 in 410 sextillion from the African American population.
