DNA matches serial rapist Police link Boulder rapist to 1993 and 1994 cases
By Christine Reid, Camera Staff Writer
July 4, 2002
Boulder's most notorious serial rapist has been connected to two more sexual
assaults near Tantra Lake, in 1993 and 1994.
Police recently learned of the DNA match between an unknown man suspected of
two attacks in south Boulder in 1998 and the unsolved assaults in 1993 and 1994,
which took place in the same area. The same suspect was connected last year with
a 1994 sexual assault in Lakewood and a 1995 rape in Austin, Texas.
"He's a quintessential serial rapist," said Boulder Detective Jane Harmer.
Police do not have an identified suspect. However, they do have a genetic-material
profile that links him to the six cases — and investigators say they think he is
responsible for as many as 14 attacks.
"Basically he has one foot in jail," said Boulder Detective Chuck Heidel.
The man is suspected to have attacked first on Feb. 4, 1993, on Moorhead Circle.
Police, however, have been unable to link this assault with the others through DNA.
Sept. 13, 1993, on South Boulder Circle, the attacker left enough DNA behind for
police to establish his genetic identity. The same man struck again in the early morning
hours of Jan. 6, 1994, in the 4800 block of West Moorhead Circle.
Police suspect that the same man is connected to four other sexual assaults between
October 1993 and July 1994, all in Moorhead Circle apartments, but they do not have a
DNA link.
After the assaults in Lakewood and Austin, police said, the man returned to Boulder
and attacked a woman living at the Tantra Lake Apartments in October 1997. She
reported that an intruder wearing a stocking mask and surgical gloves broke into her
third-floor apartment and assaulted her.
Nine months later, police said, he struck again in the same complex on the same floor.
DNA from that attack matched the prolific suspect, as did an attack on Dec. 30, 1998,
at the Bridgewalk Apartments, across the street from Tantra Lake, police said.
The victims described the suspect as in his 20s, about 5 feet 8 inches tall, with a thin
build and smelling heavily of cigarette smoke. He also was described as articulate,
most likely because he is educated, police said. He may have developed a bald spot
over the years, detectives said.
Police said their suspect is a traveler and most likely lived in the areas where he
preyed because he chose apartment buildings with complex layouts, but seemed at
ease getting around in them.
He is also suspected of casing the homes of his victims, many of whom reported
smelling heavy cigarette smoke in their apartments before their attacks.
Boulder investigators have submitted DNA collected from unsolved sexual assault
cases dating back to 1993 to be retested by the CBI with hopes of more matches and
eventually an arrest — as in the recent case of Michael Shreck. He was found guilty
and sentenced to life in prison earlier this year for the rape of a University of Colorado
student in 1990.
"We don't get a lot of good news like that," said Janine D'Anniballe, executive director
of Moving to End Sexual Assault.
The advent of DNA technology has been revolutionary in the realm of solving sexual
assaults, D'Anniballe said. And for victims to know that police are still working on
aging cases gives them hope, she said.
"It gives them some element of control, which is hugely important for a survivor," she
said. "I'm so excited about the opportunity to solve cases that are years old and for
victims to feel there is some sense of justice even if it's years later."
If you have any information about these cases, call Boulder detectives at (303)
441-3330.
http://www.bouldernews.com/bdc/city_news/article/0,1713,BDC_2422_1246823,00.html
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