News

Canadian man sentenced in Old Bridge woman's 1997 strangling in Bridgewater
— Mike Deak, MyCentralJersey.com, Jul 28, 2025

"A Canadian man has been sentenced to 10 years in state prison for killing a woman in Bridgewater almost 28 years ago, one of Somerset County's oldest cold cases. In January 2023, detectives from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit met with detectives from the New Jersey State Police Cold Case Unit as part of their Garden State Cold Case Network and Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) Grant to discuss the ongoing investigation. As a result, detectives determined that evidence collected in the investigation could be resubmitted for DNA testing, which may not have been possible in previous years."

SAKI Division Secures Conviction in Violent Home Invasion and Sexual Assault Case
— orleansda.com, Jul 10, 2025

"District Attorney Jason Williams and members of his Sexual Assault Kit Initiative Unit (SAKI) are pleased to announce that a conviction was secured in the case of State v. Ericson Gonzalez. Gonzalez pleaded guilty to Second Degree Rape, Aggravated Burglary, three counts of Second Degree Kidnapping, three counts of Armed Robbery, Aggravated Battery, Home Invasion, and Possession of Stolen Property. In early 2022, Gonzalez terrorized the Vietnamese community in New Orleans East, including two incidents charged in this case, in a series of home burglaries, during which the defendant was armed with a gun. The home invasion case included the sexual assault of a victim in her 70s and the beating of an additional victim in his 70s. DNA evidence collected in that case was linked to Gonzalez."

Authorities identify missing woman's remains related to 2022 cold case
— Barclay Idsal, kivitv.com, Jul 9, 2025

"Pickett was known as a transient who had previously resided in Spokane, Washington and Ogden, Utah. She was last seen in the Pocatello area on October 20, 2019. Her family has been notified of the positive identification. The identification is the result of an investigative partnership between the Power County Sheriff's Office (PCSO), the ISP Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) team, ISP Forensic Services Division, as well as other municipal, state, and federal agencies."

Police arrest suspect in first genealogy-based serial rapist case in Fresno
— Stephen Hawkins, Fox 26 News, Jul 1, 2025

"The Fresno Police Department announced the arrest of 55-year-old Cesar Flores, who Police Chief Mindy Casto said was wanted on suspicion of multiple sexual assaults. She said the arrest marks the city's first genealogy-based serial rapist case. The arrest is the result of years of investigative work by the department's Cold Case Sexual Assault Unit, established in 2019 with funding from the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative grant."

Southern Idaho Homicide Investigation Reopened in 2021 Death of Melissa Landers; Two Arrested
— Dailyfly, Jul 1, 2025

"The Elmore County Sheriff’s Office has reclassified the 2021 death of Melissa Landers as a homicide and arrested two individuals in connection with the case, following years of investigation and a recent forensic breakthrough. Arrest warrants were issued for Lee Landers and Jocelynn Landers, who were taken into custody without incident. The case is now under review by the Elmore County Prosecutor’s Office. Sheriff Mike Hollinshead thanked the Idaho State Police, the FBI, the Rocky Mountain Information Network, the Billings Police Department, and regional forensic specialists for their assistance in the case."

Jury finds Stafford County man guilty in 1986 murder of Jacqueline Lard
— Kari Pugh, insidenova.com, Jun 26, 2025

"A jury on Thursday found a 67-year-old Stafford County man guilty in the 1986 rape and murder of a DEA agent's wife working late one night at a real estate office in Stafford County. "It took the efforts of numerous law enforcement agencies, lab technicians and prosecutors, but justice was served this afternoon with a guilty verdict in Stafford County Circuit Court,"" the Stafford County Sheriff's Office said in a news release."

Kansas Bureau of Investigation initiative to allow sexual assault survivors to track rape kit status
— Anna Kaminski, yahoo.com, Jun 20, 2025

"Kansas Bureau of Investigation director Tony Mattivi, pictured here May 2, 2025, announced a new initiative to track the status of rape kits as they travel through hospital, law enforcement and legal systems. (Photo by Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector) TOPEKA — A Kansas Bureau of Investigation initiative is expected to change the state’s sexual assault evidence kit process so that survivors are no longer left in the dark. As early as 2026, sexual assault survivors, health care facilities, law enforcement agencies, forensic science laboratories and attorneys’ offices in Kansas will be able to track the status of a sexual assault evidence kit, also known as a rape kit, through an online system. Kansas is among the last states in the country to adopt such a system."

Louisville police seek public's help in solving 1986 sexual assault cold case
— Lillian Metzmeier Louisville Courier Journal, Jun 16, 2025

"Louisville Metro Police is asking for help from residents to solve a sexual assault cold case that has gone unsolved for nearly 40 years. Wendy Atkins, a civilian investigator with LMPD’s Special Victims Unit, said the 1986 case is being reopened thanks to the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative, a U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance program that provides funds to state agencies to process sexual assault kits."

Man sentenced for kidnapping, raping woman in DeKalb nearly 40 years ago
— WSBTV.com News Staff, Jun 3, 2025

"A DeKalb County jury has convicted a man of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a woman in a 1988 cold case. In June 2019, evidence from the case was tested with the help of the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative."

Jackson Man Sentenced to 35-50 Years for 2012 Sexual Assault
— Luke Moorehead, WKHM, May 23, 2025

"Jackson County man Curtis Lee Fleming was recently sentenced by Judge John McBain to 35-50 years in prison for 1st Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct. In 2019, the Ingham County Prosecutor’s Office was awarded and accepted a grant to expand and regionalize its Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (S.A.K.I.) to include investigations in Jackson County. Those investigations surround previously untested sexual assault kits from various agencies within both Ingham and Jackson Counties. The S.A.K.I. project is a collaborative mission involving the Attorney General’s Office, both Jackson and Ingham County Prosecutor’s Office, and specific S.A.K.I. investigators and local law enforcement."