This is part 1 in an investigative series related to the 1984 cold case homicide of Kelly Jean Robinson.

LUVERNE, Minnesota — Jeff Lucas spit into a clear tube, and sent his saliva sample off for analysis.

Adopted as a baby, he was determined to learn more about his family health history. An at-home DNA test was his best bet for answers.

The test results gave way to information far more consequential than genetic predispositions.

They revealed that his biological mother had been murdered in 1984.

Four years after giving birth to Lucas, 22-year-old Kelly Jean Robinson was found floating in a remote Rock County gravel pit pond, roughly 30 miles from her home in Sioux Falls.

An autopsy determined she died from drowning, yet bruising on her neck and shoulders indicated she was likely

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