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Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Albany man receives two life sentences for 1988 cold case rape and kidnapping
The Brief Reginald Colwell was sentenced to two life terms plus 20 years for kidnapping, raping, and assaulting a woman in a 1988 cold case. The conviction was based on DNA evidence from a preserved sexual assault kit, matched to Colwell in 2019 through a federal initiative. Colwell's life sentences are subject to 1988 parole eligibility guidelines due to the crime's occurrence date. DECATUR, Ga. - An Albany man has been sentenced to two life terms plus 20 years in prison after being convicted of kidnapping, raping, and assaulting a woman in a 1988 cold case, prosecutors announced Tuesday. A DeKalb County jury on May 20 found 58-year-old Reginald Colwell guilty on charges of kidnapping, rape, and aggravated assault for the December 30, 1988, attack. Superior Court Judge Gregory A. Adams, who presided over the trial, handed down the sentence on Tuesday, ordering the terms to be served consecutively. The backstory According to investigators, the 20-year-old victim reported the rape to DeKalb County Police after being attacked while leaving her apartment on Weatherly Drive in unincorporated Stone Mountain. As she locked the front door, a man wearing a ski mask held a knife to her throat and forced her into nearby woods, where he sexually assaulted her and threatened to kill her if she resisted. The victim fled to a nearby neighborhood once the attacker ran off, and a resident helped her call her boyfriend, who took her to the police station. Officers recovered her purse and other items scattered in the woods and transported her to Grady Memorial Hospital for a sexual assault examination. Although DNA testing was not available at the time, the sexual assault kit was preserved by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. In 2015, DeKalb County joined a federally funded effort through the Bureau of Justice Assistance's National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI), which aimed to process long-untested rape kits. In 2019, testing from the victim's case produced a CODIS match to Colwell. A court-ordered DNA sample confirmed the match. Prosecutors said Colwell had been living in DeKalb County at the time of the attack. What's next Because the crime occurred in 1988, Colwell's life sentences fall under the parole eligibility guidelines in place at the time. The Source The DeKalb County District Attorney's Office provided the details on the case. The DeKalb County Sheriff's Office provided the mug shot and arrest record.
Miami Herald
20-05-2025
- Miami Herald
Woman's 2006 rape kit sat untested for 11 years in New Mexico. Now man convicted
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. An attorney representing Lea did not immediately respond to McClatchy News' request for comment May 20. 'This conviction is a testament to the dedication of our prosecutors and their unwavering efforts to get justice for victims,' Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman said in the Facebook post. 'It brings hope to survivors — no matter how much time has passed, you're not forgotten.' Lea is accused of kidnapping a woman from a parking lot outside an Albuquerque business in June 2006, prosecutors said. The woman was visiting the area for her husband's pool tournament, according to police, KRQE reported. As the woman was trying to get into her car, an unknown man pushed her inside and got into the backseat, officials said in court documents. The man forced 'her to drive to a secluded area where he raped her,' prosecutors said. The man then threatened to kill the woman if she went to police, officials said. However, the woman reported the attack to police and underwent a sexual assault exam, where a rape kit was collected, officials said. The kit was not tested until more than a decade later in 2017, and DNA identified Lea as the unknown man from the attack, according to officials. Lea was arrested in April 2019, officials told KOAT. Lea's conviction comes after the city of Albeque established a project to test a backlog of rape kits per the direction of Mayor Tim Keller's 2018 executive order, the city says on its website. 'The implementation of The Sexual Assault Evidence Kit Backlog Reduction Project is the first step to correcting oversights and changing the course of action for the future,' the website says. Between 2017 and 2020, more than 4,500 backlogged sexual assault evidence kits were tested, data on the city's website shows. 'As part of a coordinated effort to address Albuquerque's backlog of untested, Sexual Assault Kit cases,' the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative was also formed, according to the district attorney's website. 'The SAKI Team, a dedicated group of attorneys, investigators and victim advocates, is tasked with reviewing, testing and prosecuting rape kit backlog cases and working with victims to build cases and provide them with supportive services and resources,' the website says. The district attorney's office SAKI unit, which has had 23 cold case rape convictions in two years, prosecuted Lea's case, prosecutors said. 'We are thankful the victim persevered to get this case to trial, and we're glad that justice was done today,' Deputy District Attorney Jack Jacks with the SAKI unit said in the Facebook post.
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Yahoo
Texas Rangers, local police help serve justice to serial child rapist
May 1—AUSTIN — 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 County Grand Jury gave David Roy Mundt, 62, of Longview, Texas, that sentence last week, a Texas Department of Public Safety news release said. According to the release, on Oct. 28, 1992, a male suspect — now identified as Mundt — broke into a home in Rusk County and dragged a 7-year-old girl from her bed, sexually assaulting her in the backyard of the residence before fleeing. DNA collected during the investigation was submitted to the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) — a national database to check for possible DNA matches between arrestees and unsolved cases nationwide — through the Texas Department of Public Safety's (DPS) Crime Laboratory Division. Despite the Henderson Police Department's continued investigation, a suspect was never identified, and no arrest was ever made. Then, in December 2022, the DPS Crime Laboratory in Garland notified the Texas Rangers of a possible DNA match between the 1992 Texas case and a similar kidnapping and child sexual assault cold case from 1986 in Phoenix, Ariz. The Texas Rangers began coordinating with the Phoenix Police Department and determined DNA samples from the 1986 case were eligible for Advanced DNA testing and genealogy research through Bode Technologies. 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. Using SAKI grant funds, the sample collected from David Roy Mundt was sent to Bode Technologies for expedited DNA testing, which gave a positive match. On Aug. 7, 2024, the Texas Rangers, Texas Highway Patrol and Longview Police Department arrested Mundt at his home in Gregg County, Texas. In August 2024, Mundt was indicted by a Rusk County grand jury on two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child in the 1992 Texas case, and on April 25, 2025, he was convicted and sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison. Cases like these highlight the importance of collaborative investigative work between the Texas Rangers and partner law enforcement agencies to bring justice and closure to victims and their families in unsolved crimes. The department would like to specifically thank the Henderson Police Department, Phoenix Police Department, Longview Police Department, DPS' Crime Laboratory in Garland and Bode Technologies for their dedication that ultimately led to the identification and arrest of the suspect.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Yahoo
DNA match solves 33-year-old rape case, brings new conviction for incarcerated Norfolk man
NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — A man already serving a decades-long sentence for a 1992 rape has pleaded guilty to another rape committed just a month earlier, following new DNA evidence uncovered through a state-backed cold case initiative. Anthony Favors, 55, pleaded guilty Tuesday, April 15, in Norfolk Circuit Court to two counts of rape stemming from a February 1992 assault that had remained unsolved for more than 30 years. The breakthrough came thanks to the Virginia Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI), a grant-funded program that targets the backlog of untested physical evidence recovery kits (PERKs) from unsolved sexual assault cases. Favors is currently serving a 60-year sentence for a separate rape and robbery he committed in March 1992. With this new plea, he now faces up to 40 additional years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for July 18. According to the Commonwealth's Attorney's Office, on Feb. 15, 1992, Favors entered a woman's apartment on Lankford Avenue through a damaged door that would not lock. He raped the woman twice and forced her to perform oral sex before briefly leaving the apartment — only to return minutes later, apparently to ensure she had not alerted authorities. After he left a second time, the woman fled, armed herself with a knife, and drove to Naval Station Norfolk to report the attack. A sexual assault exam was performed, and evidence containing the suspect's DNA was preserved. However, forensic technology at the time was not advanced enough to identify the perpetrator. The case went cold, and Favors remained unidentified until the PERK was retested in 2022 under the SAKI program. The renewed investigation matched the DNA to Favors, whose genetic profile had been entered into national databases following his arrest for the March 1992 assault. Investigators obtained a new DNA sample from Favors and confirmed the match. They also verified that he bore a distinctive scar described by the February 1992 victim — a key detail she remembered despite being unable to identify her attacker at the time. Favors ultimately confessed to the 1992 assault and admitted he had long anticipated it might catch up with him. Commonwealth's Attorney Ramin Fatehi commended the perseverance of the survivors and the effectiveness of the SAKI program in finally bringing resolution to the case. 'I express my sympathy to the survivors of Mr. Favors' rapes,' Fatehi said in a statement. 'The justice system cannot undo harm or fix systemic problems, but… it can offer closure, reassurance, and finality.' Favors' earlier case, which resulted in his current imprisonment, involved breaking into a woman's home, assaulting her, and attempting to force her to withdraw cash from an ATM. They caught the attention of passersby on the way to the ATM which caused him to flee that scene. The victim then ran to a neighbor's home to call the police, and he was caught shortly afterward. As a result of that investigation and the victim's direct visual identification of Favors following his arrest, Favors was charged with and pleaded guilty to rape, robbery, and burglary with the intent to commit rape. Favors was sentenced in that case to serve 60 years in prison with another 40 years suspended. The SAKI program, led by the Office of the Attorney General of Virginia, continues to test and review unprocessed kits from past decades, with the goal of securing justice in long-dormant cases. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Yahoo
Grand jury indicts man on multiple felony sexual assault charges involving minors
A grand jury indicted a man on multiple felony counts after DNA testing linked him to cases dating back nearly 25 years, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office announced April 9. Prosecutors said 45-year-old Dat Vu was indicted on the following: Two counts of sexual assault. Two counts of sexual conduct with a minor. One count of kidnapping. One count of attempt to commit sexual conduct with a minor. One count of sexual abuse. MCAO said Vu committed the crimes between 2000 and 2005 involving four victims between the ages of 13 and 17. The agency said Vu threatened victims with a gun during two of the incidents. His next scheduled court hearing is on May 6 in Maricopa County Superior Court. MCAO said investigators connected Vu to the assaults through DNA testing conducted with sexual assault kits funded by Sexual Assault Kit Initiative, or SAKI, grants. The agency said it was awarded $6.3 million for SAKI grants between 2016 and 2021, along with an additional $2.5 million in December 2024 to go toward DNA testing in cold cases involving sexual assaults. "SAKI grants help us take a crucial step toward closure by providing the resources necessary to process sexual assault kits,' Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said in a written statement. 'It's not only about solving these cases but restoring hope and giving victims the long-overdue justice they deserve.' Reach the reporter Perry Vandell at or 480-341-9433. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @PerryVandell. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: DNA testing leads to indictment of Arizona man on multiple felony charges
