DNA From McDonald's Cup Linked Woman To Husband's Death, Police Say

A Wisconsin woman who moved out of the state after her husband’s death in 2020 pleaded not guilty Monday to a homicide charge after evidence, including DNA from a McDonald’s cup, allegedly linked her to his fatal shooting.

A crime lab report linked DNA found on a straw in a fast-food cup near the body of Jose Santiago to his wife, Cassandra Hult, according to court documents, which also said fingerprints on the cup appeared to be hers. Hult also allegedly made statements to a roommate in Arizona and a new boyfriend in Las Vegas that helped lead to her arrest four years later.

Hult is in a Milwaukee jail as she faces a charge of first-degree reckless homicide with a modifier for use of a dangerous weapon in the death of Santiago, who was found on the night of March 23, 2020, with a single gunshot wound to his head, according to theMilwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Police went to St. Adalbert Cemetery that night after a jogger noticed that Santiago’s black Lincoln LS had been parked there for two days, according to a criminal complaint obtained by HuffPost. The jogger told officers she had gone up to the vehicle and discovered that an unresponsive man was inside.

When detectives arrived, they found Santiago in the driver’s seat and a spent shell casing in the rear of the vehicle, with a bullet hole that went through the driver’s head rest, according to the complaint. Two McDonald’s cups containing orange juice were also found in the sedan.

A McDonald’s receipt near the body showed a purchase made the day before, according to the complaint.

Detective Jake Puschnig of the Milwaukee Police Department testified in court on Monday that forensic testing on the McDonald’s cups indicated fingerprints and DNA were linked to Hult and