{"id":263957,"date":"2026-05-08T21:27:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T21:27:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/263957\/"},"modified":"2026-05-08T21:27:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T21:27:14","slug":"75-year-old-man-found-guilty-of-tallahassee-motel-murder-in-decades-old-cold-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/263957\/","title":{"rendered":"75-year-old man found guilty of Tallahassee motel murder in decades old cold case"},"content":{"rendered":"

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – A man suspected of a 1996 Tallahassee murder was found guilty on Thursday, according to court documents. <\/p>\n

A jury found Alan Lefferts,75, guilty of the murder of James Branner, who was found dead at the Prince Murat Motel in July 1996. He was sentenced to life in prison.<\/p>\n

That guilty verdict came after just two hours of deliberation.<\/p>\n

Lefferts was arrested<\/a> 26 years after Branner\u2019s murder in 2022 after Tallahassee Police used new DNA technology to analyze evidence. <\/p>\n

\"AA jury found Alan Lefferts guilty of the murder of James Branner, who was found dead at the Prince Murat Motel in July 1996(Leon County Jail)<\/p>\n

TPD said Lefferts\u2019s fingerprints were compared to latent prints at the crime scene and matched those taken from the motel room telephone.<\/p>\n

Court documents show Branner was found strangled in the bathtub of the motel room, with a washcloth stuffed in his mouth. <\/p>\n

Tallahassee police learned the motel room had been registered under the name \u201cJim and Al Branner.\u201d Witnesses reported a middle-aged white man, who court papers say was last seen outside the motel room the day of the murder asking for a light for his cigarette. Detectives tried to track down \u201cAl,\u201d but were unable to identify him. <\/p>\n

In 2019, genetic genealogy testing was performed on the DNA profile found at the scene, which led investigators to Lefferts, according to court documents. <\/p>\n

Lefferts\u2019s DNA was found on bedding, bloody towels and the washcloth found in the victim\u2019s mouth, court documents show. <\/p>\n

When he was arrested in Jacksonville, Florida, records show Lefferts denied ever having been to Tallahassee or knowing Branner. <\/p>\n

Testimony lasted three days and Lefferts did not testify in his own defense.<\/p>\n

Arrest papers show Lefferts was convicted in 1979<\/a> for the rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl in New York. He was released from prison 10 years later. Tallahassee police say he moved to Florida shortly after his release.<\/p>\n

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