For Immediate Release:
Wednesday, December 6, 2023
Contact: Nazneen Ahmed
919-716-0060
North Carolina State Crime Lab Also Achieves New Monthly Record of DNA Hits
(RALEIGH) Attorney General Josh Stein today released the following statement after the Raleigh Police Department arrested Rickey Hall in connection with a 1995 sexual assault cold case and several other cases, charging him with 15 counts of sexual assault, 12 counts of rape, 10 counts of kidnapping, and other charges. The arrest was made possible in part by a CODIS hit. CODIS is a network of local, state, and national DNA databases. Since 2003, the State Crime Lab has tested evidence related to these cases from multiple sexual assault kits. Additional evidence was obtained from older, untested kits that were submitted for testing in recent years. Law enforcement has connected Hall to multiple alleged crimes between 1995 and 2004.
“Congratulations to the Raleigh Police Department for their hard work to make an arrest in this cold case, and potentially many other cases,” said Attorney General Josh Stein. “I also want to commend the scientists at the State Crime Lab for their hard work to test evidence and give law enforcement the tools they need to move cases forward. We know that there’s always a possibility that criminals who aren’t caught will commit the same crimes again, so we’re working to solve cold cases, get justice for survivors, and get violent offenders off our streets.”
The arrest points to the importance of the CODIS database and DNA hits. In October, the North Carolina State Crime Laboratory achieved a new monthly record of CODIS hits with a total of 232 hits. To date, the State Crime Lab has achieved more than 10,600 CODIS hits and aided more than 8,400 investigations. This month’s CODIS hits stem from a variety of crimes, including homicides, sexual offenses, armed robbery, and assault.
Of the 16,235 older kits in local law enforcement custody, 11,775 kits require or may require testing based on the criteria of the Survivor Act. DNA samples from 4,592 kits tested have been entered into the CODIS DNA database and nearly 50 percent (2,293 kits) of those samples have resulted in a hit that may help law enforcement further investigations and solve cold cases.
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