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U.S. NEWS Thursday 23 augusT 2018

Police: Genealogy helps

ID rape suspect in

decade-old cases

By MARTHA WAGGONER their search to Bowden as
and JONATHAN DREW a person of interest, and
Associated Press investigators obtained a
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Inves- current sample of his DNA
tigators compared online to confirm his link to the
family tree data with crime- crimes, the detective said.
scene DNA evidence to He declined to say how
identify and track down a they obtained the current
suspect in a series of North sample, which was tested
Carolina rapes from a de- by the state crime lab, be-
cade ago, police said cause they plan to use simi-
Wednesday. lar methods in other cases.
One of the lead detec- Somerindyke said compar-
tives called the approach, ing DNA evidence with
similar to what was used genealogical data — the
in the "Golden State Killer" same search method that
cold case in California, a helped lead investigators
"game-changer" for investi- in California to alleged
gators who had few leads Golden State Killer Joseph
in the assaults that terror- James DeAngelo in April —
ized Fayetteville starting in is a "game-changer" for the
2006. department.
Darold Wayne Bowden, "It's bringing all our cold
43, has been charged with cases to life," he said.
multiple rape counts relat- DNA in one case is ready
ed to six assaults from 2006 to be sent to the company
to 2008, the Fayetteville Po- called Parabon NanoLabs,
lice Department said in a while the department is re-
news release. questing funding to send
Lt. John Somerindyke told evidence from two other
The Associated Press that cases, he said.
he has reached five of Police said they didn't know
the six victims, all of whom if Bowden has a lawyer,
have left Fayetteville. and the public defender's
"To say they were ecstatic office didn't immediately
would be an understate- respond to an email ask-
ment," he said. "They're all ing if they were represent- This photo taken by North Carolina investigators shows 43-year-old Darold Wayne Bowden during
very pleased with the out- ing him. A message left at his arrest on suspicion of rape at his home in North Carolina.
come." a phone listing for Bowden, Associated Press
To crack the case, Somer- who was being held in jail,
indyke said police submit- wasn't returned. "This individual has been photos of the suspect dat- chest. Somerindyke noted
ted crime-scene DNA evi- District Attorney Billy West in our community, walk- ing back to 2003 in hopes that while the suspect has
dence to a company that said at a news conference ing around our streets, for that any other possible been arrested before on
compared it with online ge- the arrest shows investiga- the last 10 years, probably victims may recognize him unrelated charges, he ap-
nealogical data uploaded tors' persistence, noting smirking thinking he got and come forward. pears to have avoided
by relatives of the suspect that fear over the rapes a away with this. Well, he A photo taken during his mandatory DNA collection
to ancestry research web- decade ago represented didn't," West said. arrest on the rape charges by authorities because of
sites. a "very tough and difficult On Wednesday, authori- shows him shirtless, with a the timing and nature of
The company narrowed time for our community." ties also released a series of swastika tattooed on his the offenses.q