Darold Wayne Bowden, A Serial Rapist, Was Caught Through Same DNA Testing That Caught Golden State Killer
In Fayetteville, North Carolina, a man has been arrested in connection to a series of six rapes using the same DNA testing that caught the Golden State Killer, reports ABC News.
Authorities announced the arrest of the “Ramsey Street Rapist,” 43-year-old Darold Wayne Bowden, on Wednesday. He has been charged in connection to the North Fayetteville/Ramsey Street rapes that occurred from March 2006 to January 2008.
Bowden was identified through Parabon NanoLabs’ genetic genealogy testing, the same technology that led to the arrest of the Golden State Killer in April of this year. The technology allows police to cast a wider net when it comes to finding unknown suspects as they can be identified through DNA submitted voluntarily by relatives.
Chief genetic genealogist from Parabon NanoLabs, CeCe Moore, commented that multiple arrests have been made this year due to the technology, according to WSOC-TV.
“This allows police to create a much larger family tree than using law enforcement databases like CODIS, in which an exact match is needed in most states.”
A lab in Virginia cross-confirmed the DNA sent in by Bowden’s family members and reported the name to the police.
He has since been charged with first-degree forcible rape, first-degree forcible sex offense, second-degree forcible rape, second-degree forcible sex offense, first-degree statutory rape, indecent liberties with a child, first-degree kidnapping, first-degree burglary, felony larceny, and felony possession of stolen goods.
He was charged in connection to the following rapes:
March 31, 2006 – Village at Carvers Falls Apartments
August 23, 2006 – 4400 block of Ramsey Street
February 12, 2007 – Apartments on Bubble Creek Court
March 6, 2007 – Village at Carvers Falls Apartments
September 18, 2007 – Heather Ridge Apartments
January 26, 2008 – Apartments on Bubble Creek Court
On Wednesday, Bowden was taken to the Cumberland County Detention Center and was kept there on an $18.8 million bond.
“He has not entered a plea. His first court appearance is set for Thursday,” commented Sgt. Shawn Strepay of the Fayetteville Police, according to WSOC-TV.
Moore spoke to ABC News earlier this year about how genetic genealogy can drastically change how investigators track down a suspect.
“[It] is a major game-changer for cold cases because in a genetic genealogy database we can reverse engineer the [suspect’s family] tree from their distant cousins who have tested. So it doesn’t matter that they haven’t had their DNA tested through another arrest or crime scene, we don’t need their DNA. We need somebody from their family to have tested in order to resolve these cases.”
