2 cold cases solved by Fulton County unit that specializes in testing old sexual assault kits
Fulton County prosecutors were able to solve two rape cold cases and get convictions on consecutive days.
An executive district attorney says the system failed the two victims for years, but a unit that specializes in using DNA technology on old sexual assault kits has done its best to rectify that.
Channel 2 investigative reporter Mark Winne spoke to one of the victims who finally got justice.
'Those years that nothing was done, it had a mental effect, emotional effect and it ended up in some physical effects,' she said.
'It was some sense of justice because you don't get to do it again. You don't give to hurt anyone else,' she said about the man who was convicted.
'We need people to know that no matter how long ago you were victimized,' Fulton DA Fani Willis said. 'We intend to fight for you.'
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
Jai Scott Williams and Leonard Cross were convicted for rape and other charges in separate cases, but with some common factors.
The brutal rapes occurred in abandoned dwellings. Both guilty verdicts happened the same week on consecutive days. Both were solved years after the crimes by the Fulton County DA's federally-funded Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) unit.
Rape kits in old cases, most of which had been lost in the system for years, are tested again by a DNA database containing the DNA of convicted felons and others.
The SAKI unit focuses on the victims who were for a time abandoned by the system.
'Absolutely, they were abandoned, they were failed, and they were not believed,' Executive District Attorney Julianna Peterson Eley told Winne. 'They were actually fought for finally after so many years.'
Peterson Eley says in the Williams case, the victim was 19 when the attack happened in 2014.
'Did you believe you would ever get justice?' Winne asked the victim.
'No, it had been so long,' she said.
'I think the testimony of our victim, it was very powerful. She was very brave. She was able to get on the stand and tell strangers what he did to her,' Senior Assistant DA Katherine Reimer said.
Chief Senior Assistant DA Christina Robinson, who tried the case with Reimer, said Williams abducted his victim at knife point as she walked down Cleveland Ave.
'He eventually said, 'You think you're too good for me. I'm gonna show you and I'm going to take you and you're going to become a woman tonight.''
Robinson said Williams had been charged with raping another woman in 2006, but it was dismissed when the victim couldn't be located.
But that victim testified in Williams trial this time to establish a pattern. Judge Robert McBurney gave Williams two consecutive life without parole sentences.
TRENDING STORIES:
Father, son killed after tree falls and crushes them at Georgia golf course
Man killed, another airlifted after tree falls on campsite in remote part of Fannin County
Mother, four young children killed in early morning wreck along Georgia coast
In the Leonard Cross case, Peterson Eley says the victim was just 14 years old when he raped her in 2007.
'She walked from that apartment complex and walked to her school and reported it there immediately,' she said.
'In 2021, when our investigators did an amazing job of finding the victim. They spoke with her and she remembered an exact person and those exact lips. So I think that was something that she never forgot as it was something it continuously bothered her,' Assistant DA Marquez Jones said.
Cross is scheduled for sentencing on April 14 and the state will ask for the maximum sentence: life plus 20 years. Defense attorneys released the following statement.
'The Fulton Public Defender's Office represented Mr. Cross and Mr. Williams in their separate cases and will continue to fight for them as they navigate the post-trial legal process. We must decline further comment at this time.'
In Williams' case, a motion for a new trial has been filed, suggesting grounds including the verdict is contrary to the evidence.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
8-year-old shot in South Fulton
The South Fulton Police Department said one person was arrested after a 8-year-old was shot Friday night. Officers responded to the 4300 block of Cascade Road and found an 8-year-old child with a gunshot wound to the leg. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] The child was taken to a nearby children's hospital for treatment. The police said initial findings indicate the shooting came after a large fight with several people. TRENDING STORIES: Lawsuit tied up in litigation for family of H.S. football player who suffered traumatic brain injury GA ringleader of fraud scheme sentenced for creating fake recruiting websites to steal identities Body of missing 17-year-old boater found in Allatoona Lake Several people were detained at the scene. Police arrested one woman, who has been charged with aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, police said. Police have not yet identified the arrested woman. South Fulton police said detectives with the Criminal Investigations Division, along with the Crime Scene Unit and NIBIN Task Force, are actively investigating the case. Channel 2 has reached out to South Fulton authorities for more details. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
Richland man sentenced for killing wife while speeding to pass a truck
A Richland man is headed to prison nearly four years after killing his wife in a dramatic south Richland wreck. Investigators believe Melvin D. Williams Jr., 65, was speeding up a hill on Leslie Road trying to get ahead of a merging truck when he lost control of the Saturn he was driving in June 2021. The car spun into the oncoming lane and crashed, killing his wife Victoria Deberry, 61. He was charged with vehicular homicide seven weeks after the crash and a lengthy hospital stay. On Tuesday, Williams entered an Alford plea to the charge. The plea means he doesn't admit to the crime, but believed the prosecutors could prove the charge if it went to trial. Williams faced between a year and three months and a year and eight months in prison.. Both sides agreed to a maximum sentence, and Judge Norma Rodriguez followed the recommendation. Deberry's family also asked for the judge to impose the maximum sentence, according to statements read into the record. William's attorney Deric Orr said his client took responsibility for his role, but the other driver remained free. 'Ultimately, while we firmly believe that (the other driver's) actions did contribute to Ms. Deberry's death, the prosecutor maintains the sole ability to charge someone with a crime. We are happy that Mr. Williams was able to put this behind him,' Orr told the Tri-City Herald. Williams told investigators that he was heading south on Leslie Road from Columbia Park Trail when he first tried to pass a Ford pickup. The two-lane section of Leslie Road goes uphill before narrowing from two lanes to one. Vehicles in the right lane have the right of way, while drivers in the left were instructed to 'merge right' with painted arrows on the road and signs. The pickup moved into the left lane in front of his Saturn and Williams moved into the right, he told investigators. The data recorder in the car showed he was going 76 mph with the gas pedal pushed nearly to the floor when the Saturn struck the right curb, court documents said. The posted speed limit was 40 mph. When he lost control, the car slid sideways in front of the truck. It kept skidding across the road and into oncoming traffic. It slammed into an SUV heading north. Deberry was killed in the crash and Williams was left in the hospital for weeks
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
2 arrested after chase that started in Villa Rica, involved 2 collisions, police say
Police say two people from Atlanta were arrested after a chase that stretched from Villa Rica to Carrolton on Thursday. The Villa Rica Police Department said the suspects' truck damaged three other vehicles, but no one was reportedly hurt. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] A Villa Rica officer said he tried to stop a Ram truck for an illegal window tint at about 8 p.m. Thursday. Police said the truck traveled slowly before coming to a stop in the fast lane on Highway 61. Once a second police unit arrived, officers tried to contact the driver, later identified as Kevin Lynch. TRENDING STORIES: Lawsuit tied up in litigation for family of H.S. football player who suffered traumatic brain injury 8-year-old shot in South Fulton GA ringleader of fraud scheme sentenced for creating fake recruiting websites to steal identities Officers said they saw the driver with a gun in his right hand, the weapon pointed at the driver's window. Police said they backed away from the truck and gave the driver commands. The truck began to drive away. The chase started from the stop location on Highway 61 and ended near Old Airport Road in Carrollton. Police said the truck hit two vehicles, and debris from one of those collisions struck a third vehicle. People in the truck were also seen throwing items out of the vehicle during the chase. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Authorities said they used a precision immobilization technique (PIT) maneuver on the truck to stop the dangerous chase. Lynch and passenger Julia Brown were arrested on several charges. Lynch was charged with two counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, possession of firearm by convicted felon, possession of a firearm during certain crimes, felony fleeing and eluding, several counts of hit and run and several other traffic offenses. Brown was charged with tampering with evidence, criminal trespass and obstruction and littering. Villa Rica police said Carroll County Sheriff's Office, Georgia State Patrol and Carrollton Police Department assisted in the arrest. Officials say this incident is still being investigated.
