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Survivor Who Played Dead Helps Catch Attacker After 38 Years
Her bravery meant police had the DNA to catch a would-be killer long after he must have assumed he got away with it.
Authorities in North Carolina and Missouri have jointly announced they have arrested their main suspect in connection with a 38-year-old rape and attempted murder.
James Frederick Wilson, 59, was apprehended at his home in North Carolina after his DNA matched that left at a 1984 crime scene in Columbia, Missouri. He is now being held on $1 million bail in preparation for his extradition.
A violent attack
It was March 24th 1984 when the unnamed 17-year-old victim was walking to work along Wilkes Boulevard in Columbia and encountered a man she didn’t know.
The man held a pocket knife to her throat and forced her into a vehicle that he had parked nearby. Once she was inside, he drove her to a dead end road, made her remove her clothing and raped her.
Afterwards, the attacker cut the victim’s throat in an attempt to murder her and pushed her into a nearby creek. Incredibly, although the young woman had sustained terrible injuries, she was still alive.
