By admin 
TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – New DNA evidence from thousands of backlogged sexual assault kits is reopening cold cases across Pima County, but prosecuting crimes that occurred decades ago comes with significant obstacles.
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Pima County Attorney Laura Conover said the passage of time makes an already difficult category of crime harder to pursue in court.
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- DNA grant leads to convictions in sexual assault cold cases in Tucson
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“Time is not on our side,” Conover said. “Witness memories, witness availability, physical evidence, locating it, finding it again, hoping it hasn’t been destroyed.”
Grief compounded by unanswered questions
Conover said cold cases carry a particular burden for survivors.
“The grief and trauma of any violent crime is profound and unique in every single case,” Conover said. “But when a case has gone cold, when it’s nothing but questions and no answers, it’s a harder grief and trauma to get through.”
She said the stakes of leaving sexual assault cases unresolved extend beyond individual survivors.
“Sexual violence, the data shows us, is often repeated,” Conover said. “The odds can be higher than other kinds of crime, that the behavior is going to continue, and there’s going to be other victims.”
Grant funds testing of backlogged kits
A $1 million grant funded DNA testing of thousands of backlogged sexual assault kits held by the Tucson Police Department.
The testing identified more than 100 alleged serial offenders.
Conover said once a DNA match is made, investigators and advocates work to locate survivors — wherever they may now live — to deliver the results.
“You’ve got detectives, prosecutors, victim advocates going personally wherever that victim may now be,” Conover said. “Give them massive, life-altering news that the kit has been tested, and finally we’ve got a result, and we’ve got a match, and we may be able to prosecute a case.”
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DNA evidence strengthens cases
Some survivors choose not to pursue prosecution.
For those who do, Conover said the combination of victim participation and DNA results strengthens the case — both at trial and in plea negotiations.
“When they’re faced with their own DNA having been identified, that’s quite powerful in their decision, I think, to take account, to agree to plead guilty, to accept the harm that they caused,” Conover said.
Of the more than 100 alleged serial offenders identified through DNA testing, 14 have been arrested and convicted. Additional cases remain pending.
Conover said the work carries meaning for everyone involved.
“It’s rewarding work, I think, when they get to go to families and say, ‘ Look, we never gave up. And we finally have a hit,” Conover said.
Additional grants expand testing
Following the original $1 million grant, the Tucson Police Department received four additional grants to use advanced testing and technology to identify more suspects.
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