'The Genetic Detective': CeCe Moore identifies elusive Ramsey Street rapist who terrorized women for a decade
Genetic genealogist CeCe Moore tackles a decade-old unsolved case, which is much different from the usual murder cases that she has helped crack. For two years, an elusive rapist terrorized the women of Fayetteville, North Carolina. He sexually assaulted multiple women, all residents living on Ramsey Street in the surrounding areas, and thereafter came to be known as the Ramsey Street rapist. For years, the suspect had evaded the police, while his victims and other women on the street had to live in fear. In the latest episode of 'The Genetic Detective', Moore helps the Fayetteville police track down the serial rapist.
Ramsey Street rapist
The case of the Ramsey Street rapist follows a series of rapes and sexual assaults that happened between March 2006 and January 2008. This was a sexual predator who took away women's sense of security. At least six women became victims of this serial rapist who either broke into their homes or attacked them as they went about their business. In one of the first attacks that took place in August of 2006, the perpetrator grabbed a woman, who had been on her usual morning run down Ramsey Street at about 5 am. She later described that she was attacked from behind and raped by the side of the road in the bushes for about 45 minutes. Six months later he struck again and attacked a woman who had been home alone. He entered her residence and sexually assaulted her. In another case, a 15-year-old girl was attacked while she was asleep. In Septemeber 2007, he slipped in through the sliding doors of the home of a 21-year-old college student and attacked her.
Authorities were able to retrieve DNA samples from the site. All six traumatized victims reported their attacks and were also administered a rape kit to find semen or skin cells from the suspect that could help in identifying the suspect. The DNA samples were profiled and they realized that the rapes were all committed by the same man. However, their investigation hit an obstacle when the attacks ceased in 2008, without any arrests being made. The case remained unsolved for about 12 years, despite there being DNA evidence. The victims had vague memories from the time that they were attacked and could not exactly pinpoint what their assailant's physical appearance. They first tried to upload the evidence on the national criminal database, CODIS, which led them to a 'peeping Tom' case from Harnett County in 2004. While it was a match, the perpetrator in that case too remained unknown. Although the case seemed to have hit a dead-end, the Fayetteville police never stopped investigating.
CeCe Moore's investigation
Two days after the Golden State Killer was identified and arrested, thanks to genetic genealogy, the Fayetteville police approached Virginia-based Parabon Labs wth the hope that genetic genealogy could help solve this case. Parabon Labs first constructed an image of the rapist's appearance with what little DNA information they had, through a technique called phenotyping. The images were then publicized by the Fayetteville police, who urged people to send in tips. When that didn't work, Parabon's geneticists genotyped the DNA that they were provided by the Fayetteville authorities and retrieved a genetic profile which they uploaded onto GEDMatch, a genealogy website that helps find relatives who shared DNA with the suspect.
Once the site had provided them with a set of matches, the list was handed over to Moore and she got right down to work. This case was completely different compared to the homicide cases that Moore was used to helping solve simply because she knew there were living survivors of the attacks that were depending on her for answers. Ramsey Street had become the location of nightmares for so many women, over the years. Every little clue and every piece of information that she could find related to the case would help her greatly. GEDMatch had narrowed down the suspect's relatives to 10 matches, all who belonged to the same family and were closely related to each other. However, she was swimming through unchartered waters here, as this was an ongoing court case as well. But she knew she had her work cut out for her since she was only looking to build one family tree, tracing it back to a common ancestor. She then scrutinized each match ruling them out according to the genetic matches and finally zeroed in on the suspect.
Suspect identified
Darold Wayne Bowden, 43, was arrested in connection to rapes, in August 2018, after the Fayetteville police concluded him to be a suspect following a record of petty crimes committed in the past. A six-month investigation by CBS 17 in 2019, found that Bowden had first-served time for larceny 1993. Furthermore, documents detail that he had at least 71 known criminal filings against him since 1998, when he was released from prison. He was charged with assault on a female, assault with a deadly weapon and also for holding someone at gunpoint. Bowden was arrested and charged with 44 offenses, which include three counts of first-degree rape, four counts of second-degree rape, 13 counts of a second-degree forcible sex offense, six counts of first-degree kidnapping, five counts of first-degree burglary and multiple counts of larceny and possession of stolen goods. held in the Cumberland County Detention Center on an $18.8 million bond. His request for bail reduction was also denied.
'The Genetic Detective' premieres on Tuesdays at 10 pm ET on ABC.
