DNA Evidence Breakthrough Results in Justice for Family of 1989 Rape, Murder Victim in Washtenaw County
It’s been more than 35 years since Beverly Wivell had been abducted, sexually assaulted, and murdered. Now, her perpetrator has been convicted of the crimes thanks to a breakthrough in DNA technology.
According to the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office, Wivell had been sleeping inside her vehicle in Canton Township after she dropped off her son at school. She was abducted, sexually assaulted, and then shot. Wivell’s body was discovered on the side of the road in Superior Township on Sept. 18, 1989. Her vehicle was still running with the driver’s door open and her purse inside.
“That day has been in my head since that day — as if it were yesterday. I would want her to meet my kids and [know] I’ve done the best I could and hope she was proud,” said her son, Dale Swanson, in an interview with Local 4 News Detroit. “I felt alone even though I had family.”
In January 2024, DNA evidence from a rape kit collected in 1989 was submitted for forensic genealogy testing. That testing linked the DNA to Buster Robbins of Almont. Robbins has been charged in connection with Wivell’s 1989 rape and murder. Prosecutors stated that Robbins did not know Wivell.
Investigators running surveillance on Robbins’ home collected several items from his property, including used plastic straws, which were delivered to the Michigan State Police lab for DNA analysis. There, forensic scientists found that the DNA on one of the straws matched the DNA from the 1989 rape kit.
In an interview with Robbins’ wife, she reported he drove a vehicle in 1989 that matched the description of the car seen leaving the crime scene. Authorities also uncovered a 45-caliber magazine with ammunition in Robbins’ home that matched the weapon used in Wivell’s murder.
Robbins, whose request for bond was denied after he was charged with felony murder, is due in court on Feb. 13, 2025.
“It’s not every day that you actually get leads on cold cases from 1989, especially involving a homicide,” said Washtenaw County Sheriff Alyshia Dye in an interview with Local 4 News Detroit. “It’s an example of just really good investigative work and also just the improvements in the way that we do things with technology and being able to accurately identify suspects through DNA.”
