2021/12/10

Forensic Magzine December 08, 2021: Genealogy Points to Suspect in 15 Sexual Assault Cases in the 1990s

Detectives with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s (CMPD) Sexual Assault Cold Case Unit identified the suspect responsible for at least 15 cases from the 1990s.
 
In June 1990, a suspect broke into a residence in the Myers Park area and sexually assaulted an occupant inside. Over the course of the next nine years, there were multiple cases that were unique and similar in the modus operandi. The last of the cases appear to have occurred on January of 1999, and by that time, the suspect, had become dubbed by the media as the “Myers Park Rapist.”
 
These cases were investigated extensively. Of the 15 cases detectives have connected, 13 of them involved victims under the age of 18. In the majority of the cases, the suspect would arm himself with a knife, break into the residence and move the victim to a different location where he would sexually assault them.

A portion of the investigation included collection and analysis of DNA, however, no CODIS matches were found. But, with the assistance of the Sexual Assault Initiative Grant (SAKI) and Parabon Laboratories, forensic genetic genealogy was utilized and identified David Edward Doran as a potential suspect. Following additional DNA testing, Doran was confirmed as the suspect. Doran passed away on June 24, 2008. 

The CMPD’s Sexual Assault Cold Case Unit began in 2006 and is responsible for clearing nearly 400 cases. The unit is funded through various grants to include SAKI, which funds evidence testing and personnel costs. The investigative expertise and success of the unit is the result of a cumulative 150 years of experience between the sergeant, five detectives, advocate, site coordinator and part-time prosecutor. more