News

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."

Teen’s sexual assault kit sat untested for 27 years in Alaska. Now, man convicted
— Daniella Segura, Sacramento Bee, May 22, 2025

"The unknown man’s DNA from the 1995 case was run in the Combined DNA Index System, “a computer software program that operates local, state, and national databases of DNA profiles from convicted offenders, unsolved crime scene evidence, and missing persons,” according to federal prosecutors. It found Fischer’s DNA profile to be a match, state prosecutors said."

He killed her with his bare hands, dumped her body then fled to Canada
— shorenewsnetwork, May 20, 2025

"A 61-year-old man pled guilty Monday to aggravated manslaughter in the 1997 killing of Tamara “Tammy” Tignor, closing a 27-year-old cold case that remained unsolved until a DNA match identified him as the suspect. Robert A. Creter admitted in Somerset County Superior Court that he manually strangled Tignor with his bare hands on November 4, 1997, in Bridgewater Township, causing her death. His guilty plea was accepted by Judge Angela F. Borkowski. In January 2023, detectives from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office and the New Jersey State Police Cold Case Unit revisited the case through the Garden State Cold Case Network and Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) Grant. Evidence from the crime scene was resubmitted for forensic testing, resulting in a high-stringency DNA match to Creter on April 6, 2023."

Woman’s 2006 rape kit sat untested for 11 years in New Mexico. Now man convicted
— Daniella Segura, Sacramento Bee, May 20, 2025

"A man accused of kidnapping and raping a woman from a New Mexico parking lot in 2006 has been convicted, prosecutors say. Erik Thomas Lea was found guilty of first-degree kidnapping and two counts of criminal sexual penetration, the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office said in a May 19 Facebook post."

Cold case murder of 18-year-old woman solved by Salt Lake City police
— Caroleina Hassett, Fox13Now, May 15, 2025

"Forty years after the discovery of an 18-year-old girl found murdered in Salt Lake City, police announced Thursday that they have finally closed the decades-long cold case surrounding her death."

Texas Rangers, Local Police Help Serve Justice to Serial Child Rapist
— Kristin Barclay, May 1, 2025

"The man responsible for sex crimes against two young girls in Texas and Arizona will now spend the rest of his life behind bars. Nearly 40 years after the first of the two crimes was committed, a Rusk Co. Grand Jury gave David Roy Mundt, 62, of Longview, Texas, that sentence last week. On June 15, 2024, that testing and research identified two brothers as possible suspects. The first brother was eventually ruled out because his DNA was already in the CODIS database and would have previously produced a positive match. Investigators then obtained a DNA sample from the second brother, David Roy Mundt, for testing and comparison through DPS’ Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) program. The program is funded by the Department of Justice/Bureau of Justice Assistance (DOJ/BJA), which provides investigative funding for agencies across the United States to further unsolved sexual assaults and sexually related homicides, aiming to bring justice to the victims and their families."

Grand jury indicts man wanted in 36-year-old cold case in Springfield
— KY3 Staff, Apr 24, 2025

"In 2019, because of the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative, Williams’ sexual assault kit was tested. The test revealed the DNA from a man, but it was insufficient for database searches. In 2024, new advances in DNA testing became available and, with funding provided by Season of Justice, Williams’ sexual assault kit was tested again, identifying Bowles as the suspect."

"Man convicted in sexual assault of sleeping camper decade ago, AK officials say
— Sara Schilling, Sacramento Bee, Apr 16, 2025

"A man has been convicted nearly a decade after he’s accused of physically and sexually assaulting a woman at an Alaska campground, officials said. Andrew Byrd, now 43, was found guilty of two counts of first-degree sexual assault and one count each of second- and third-degree assault after a two-week trial, the Alaska Department of Law said in an April 15 news release. A sexual assault kit was done, and it was tested after state troopers in 2016 received a Sexual Assault Kit Initiative grant, prosecutors said."

Suspect arrested in Detroit cold case rapes dating back to 1997, 2004
— Amber Eikenberry, fox2detroit.com, Apr 16, 2025

"A suspect accused of three rapes in Detroit dating back decades is now facing charges after recently tested rape kits linked him to the alleged crimes."