News

One case at a time, one victim at a time': An inside look at the lab where rape kits are tested for Jefferson County
— Jon Paepcke, WVTM13, Oct 4, 2024

"Scientists in Hoover are making significant progress in clearing Jefferson County's backlog of untested rape kits, which date back to the 1990s. So far, Jefferson County's Sexual Assault Kit Initiative team has sent the lab 2,735 rape kits, or 68 percent of the backlog, for testing. Based on the lab's ability to test fifty a month, that backlog should be eliminated in the next two years."

Man found guilty of rape in 1992 Virginia cold case after DNA retested with new technology
— JeanneTyler Moodee Lockman, WJLA.com, Sep 26, 2024

"A man was found guilty Wednesday of rape and armed burglary in a 1992 cold case that was reopened in Norfolk, Virginia due to a new DNA testing initiative, according to the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office. On May 5, 1992, a woman was in her home with her three sleeping children when a man came in through one of the children’s bedroom windows armed with a knife, according to court documents on the 32-year-old case. The man, identified as Vernon Lorenzo Gay, found the woman in her bedroom and raped her, according to court documents."

DNA leads to Lubbock man’s arrest 10 years after sexual assault
— Caitlyn Rooney, msn.com, Sep 25, 2024

"Court documents recently obtained by EverythingLubbock.com revealed Johnny Joe Sanchez, Sr., 48, was arrested and accused of Sexual Assault after DNA results came back with a positive match 10 years after the crime happened. According to online jail records, Sanchez was arrested in the 200 block of University Avenue on September 20 by the Texas Department of Public Safety."

Texas Rangers Solve 40-Year-Old Ector County Cold Case Murder, Suspect Pleads Guilty
— Texas Department of Public Safety, Sep 25, 2024

"The man who pled guilty to a decades-old cold case murder in Ector County will spend the next 20 years behind bars. Billy Wayne Ludwigson, 62, was arrested by the Texas Rangers after years of investigation. He pled guilty to the murder of 64-year-old Velma Nesset and was sentenced by an Ector County jury in August. Then, in 2020, Nesset’s case was identified as being eligible for the Texas Department of Public Safety’s (DPS) Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) program which is funded by the Department of Justice/Bureau of Justice Assistance (DOJ/BJA). DOJ/BJA provide investigative funding for agencies across the United States to further unsolved sexual assaults and sexually related homicides with the hope of bringing justice to the victims and their families."

Tucson Police to start processing sexual assault kits within a week
— Athena Kehoe, KGUN9, Sep 11, 2024

"Back in 2022, Tucson Police Department (TPD) received a grant from Sexual Assault Initiative Kits (SAKI) to complete previous unfinished sexual assault kits. Dallas Wilson with the TPD Detectives team explained the importance of this grant: "Now, instead of the victim going to the hospital, getting the kit, and then having a patrol officer take the kit to our evidence center and put in storage, and then wait for an investigator to potentially request for that kit to get tested… we’re just testing them all immediately.”

Man indicted on multiple child sex charges in New Orleans
— Christian Oliver, MSN.com, Aug 30, 2024

"A man has been indicted on several child sex charges after his case was brought before an Orleans Parish grand jury on Thursday, Aug. 29. Two years later, Broadmoor murder case remains unsolved According to the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office, the case against Marcus Leonard was formally presented by an attorney with the Orleans parish District Attorney’s Office Sexual Assault Kit Initiative."

44 years after woman murdered in suburban Seattle, DNA on cigarette leads to suspect in Arkansas
— Kerry Breen, CBS News, Aug 27, 2024

"New DNA recovered from a cigarette has helped police in Washington state make an arrest in a decades-old cold case, authorities said this week. DNA evidence was collected from the crime scene, CBS affiliate KTHV reported, but it wasn't until years later that the technology would advance enough to help link that evidence to possible suspects. In March 2022, Kent police began pursuing possible DNA matches and came back with 11 suspects, according to the station. Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson said on social media that his office's sexual assault kit initiative funded forensic genetic genealogy testing that ""narrowed the list of suspects."

Backlog of thousands of sexual assault kits processed in West Virginia under SAKI program
— Sam Kirk, Yahoo News, Aug 27, 2024

"The West Virginia State Police and Bureau of Justice Administration’s Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) have reached a major milestone in ensuring justice for sexual assault victims in the state. In 2015, the State Police’s Forensic Laboratory partnered with the SAKI along with other organizations with the mission of testing all eligible untested or unsubmitted sexual assault kits and enter qualifying DNA profiles into the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), a database that houses DNA profiles for comparison purposes. Now, they have completed that goal, with more than 2,400 sexual assault kits (SAKs) being tested."

Utah police: DNA taken from Nicholas Alahverdian in January matches his DNA taken from 2008 rape
— Tom Mooney Providence Journal, Aug 27, 2024

"DNA from Rhode Island conman Nicholas Alahverdian taken in the Utah County Jail in January, following his extradition from Scotland, matches DNA collected in 2008 from a woman who said he raped her, a police officer testified Tuesday. Taking the stand at a hearing to determine if probable cause exists to prosecute Alahverdian, Orem Police Lt. Karalee Johnson became the first witness linking a recent sample of Alahverdian’s DNA to an alleged rape since he faked his death in 2020, sparking a sensational international story."

Crime committed 2 decades ago solved as Missouri’s sexual assault kit backlog shrinks
— Heidi Schmidt, KCTV5, Aug 26, 2024

"Missouri’s backlog of untested sexual assault kits is shrinking. The Missouri Attorney General’s office said it sent a shipment of untested sexual assault kits to a lab for testing in March 2024. It is the final shipment of backlogged kits the office decided to submit for possible prosecution. “This is a huge win out of our SAFE Kit Initiative. I am proud of my team of professionals dedicated to achieving real results for victims of sexual assault,” Attorney General Andrew Bailey said. “We will continue to partner with local law enforcement and prosecutors to obtain justice for victims.”