Texas-based company discovers DNA link between Morgan Nick and a potential suspect

ALMA, Ark. – A pivotal discovery in a case that’s sat cold for nearly 30 years was made from one piece of hair found in a truck.

Alma police announced Tuesday they had enough reason to believe Morgan Nick was inside the car of Billy Jack Lincks.

Lincks was named a potential suspect in 2021 for the 1995 disappearance of Nick. Tuesday, he became the prime suspect, after extensive DNA testing. Police said they found a piece of hair in Linck’s car.

The piece was broken and likely aged 30 years, making it difficult to determine a match. In December of 2023, Alma police sent the evidence off to a company in Texas called Othram.

Othram specializes in forensics for unsolved cases. Their team was able to extract a portion of DNA from the piece of hair and compare it to DNA from Nick’s mother, Colleen.

Officials say there are certain markers in DNA that can determine if two people are related. In this case, scientists found the DNA from the car was likely a first-degree relationship to Colleen Nick, meaning it was likely Morgan’s.

Alma police collected evidence from Linck’s vehicle years before sending it off to Othram.

Othram CEO David Mittelman said this is likely due to a fear early testing could destroy the evidence.

“DNA testing is a destructive process,” Mittelman said. “Every time you test DNA, you are consuming DNA and if you don’t get a result, you don’t get that DNA back.”

Mittelman said scientists have to be careful when working with little amounts of evidence, for fear of compromising the investigation.

The technology used in the Nick case is relatively new. Mittelman said if they had gotten the case in 2022, instead of 2023, they would have pushed it off for fear they wouldn’t be able to get results.

“Until we get it right, we don’t want to take on a case with that kind of small amount of precious evidence,” Mittelman said.

Scientists who worked on this case say they hope Tuesday’s discovery brings peace to the Nick family but also opens the doors for other families seeking answers.

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