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A Florida man was arrested Wednesday in the 1998 kidnapping and rape of a 22-year-old woman after DNA collected from a discarded cigarette last month linked him to the case, investigators said.
James Byrd, now 60, was arrested in Marion County on charges of armed kidnapping and sexual battery in the 22-year-old case, Tampa police said.
DETECTIVES USE DNA TO SOLVE 1999 COLORADO HOSPITAL COLD CASE MURDER OF 23 YEAR OLD
"As is clear in this case, we have never considered an investigation as a 'cold case' and we work every case until each one can be successfully solved," Tampa Police Chief Brian Dugan said in a statement.
Investigators used genetic genealogy to link Byrd to the March 1998 incident, police said.
Byrd was charged with armed kidnapping and sexual battery in the 22-year-old case, police said. (Marion County Sheriff's Office)
Byrd, then 38, had offered a ride in his blue pickup truck to a woman he saw walking near Columbus Drive and Interstate 4, the Tampa Bay Times reported, citing a police report. The woman agreed.
Byrd then pulled out a six-inch knife and threatened the woman before raping her and leaving her by the roadside, according to the report.
The woman, now in her 40s and living out of state, gave police a description of the man, and DNA evidence was collected and preserved at the time, FOX13 Tampa reported. But no arrests were made.
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In 2015, the DNA was linked to two other sexual assault investigations in Hillsborough County from 1999, the station reported. However, investigators still could not identify a suspect.
In September, forensic scientists identified Byrd as a possible match using genealogical testing, the reports said. Investigators then took a closer look at Byrd, following him last month to a doctor’s office, where they collected a cigarette butt he threw on the ground.
Investigators tested the discarded cigarette and the DNA profile matched the evidence preserved from the 1998 case, police said.
Byrd has denied ever meeting the victim or having sex with her, the police report said.
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