Three decade old cold case murder solved with evidence from a sexual assault kit

Sexual assault occurs at alarming rates in America. The true incidence remains unknown as many victims fail to both report for immediate medical care and notify law enforcement of the crime committed. For those who do seek medical assistance, a Sexual Assault Kit is available in Emergency Departments with established protocols for the forwarding of collected specimens to law enforcement. A crime lab analyzes the evidence to identify the offender's DNA. A DNA profile is then created and archived into a database. This case involved a woman who not only endured a sexual assault, but also sustained multiple gun shot wounds, and witnessed the murder of her friend nearly three decades ago. At that time, she was treated for her injuries and evidence was collected and secured into a Sexual Assault Kit. A DNA profile was then created from a predetermined crime lab. In 2011, a Cold Case Investigator, who was reviewing all archived DNA profiles of currently incarcerated individuals in the city where the initial crime was committed, was able to match a current prisoner's DNA to that of the DNA profile created from specimens collected during the sexual assault exam nearly thirty years ago. The perpetrator subsequently was charged with murder by the criminal justice system and received a thirty year sentence without opportunity for parole.