From the Wayne County Sheriff’s office:

 

DNA Evidence Links Inmate to Serial Rapes of Elderly Women

Assaults on Wayne County Women Began More Than a Decade Ago; Suspect Disguised as Pizza Delivery Man in Two of Ten Incidents

Wayne County Sheriff Thomas G. Maurer and Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation (BCI&I) Superintendent Robert Fiatal, today announced a 25-count Grand Jury Indictment against a man who terrorized elderly victims throughout Wayne County.

Jeffrey L. Humrichouser, 49, is charged with multiple sex offenses, after DNA and other forensic evidence linked him to the crimes which spanned 11 years and involved victims ranging in age from 37 to 95.

The evidence collected from each assault was tested by BCI&I and the results entered into the Combined DNA Index System, or CODIS. BCI&I uses the national database to link crimes committed by the same offender and can identify the culprit if that offender’s DNA is in the database. The first attack on the women took place in August of 1996 and the last attack happened in April of 2007.

“This case is testimony to the hard work of our deputies who processed the crime scenes, the BCI&I which examined the evidence, and CODIS, which allowed us to use modern technology to solve these horrendous crimes against our senior citizens,” said Sheriff Maurer.

Superintendent Robert Fiatal said newer technology is closing old cases.

“Forensic evidence and CODIS is critically important to solving longtime cold cases, and in this case, was the driving force behind catching this serial rapist,” said Fiatal. “Without this constantly expanding database of felons’ DNA, modern investigative techniques, and the complete commitment of the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, this offender may have never been caught.”

The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office has been investigating the series of break-ins and sex offenses that began in 1996 and occurred primarily in the southeast portion of Wayne County, mainly against seniors. As investigators compared the similarities in these cases, these offenses appeared to be linked.

DNA evidence recovered at the crime scene and examined by BCI&I had already determined four of the 10 cases were committed by the same offender. Additional forensic evidence that has since been analyzed, identified Humrichouser as the suspect in a fifth assault. Current forensic examinations are being conducted to determine if the remaining four cases were committed by the same offender.

“To be able to resolve these repulsive crimes targeting our vulnerable senior population that have been ongoing for more than twelve years is very rewarding,” said Sheriff Maurer. “These cases remained with our detectives as they continued to work on any leads they were able to develop. As each of us has a mother and a grandmother, we investigated these cases in a way we would have wanted it worked, if that was our family member.

“The relationship our detectives built with each of the victims was apparent when we were able to meet with them and give them the news that a suspect had been identified and is now charged with their assault.”

After one of the sexual assaults in 2007, Sheriff Maurer asked the Federal Bureau of Investigation to conduct an offender profile of the possible offender in these cases. This was released to the public in January of this year.

“That release generated a lot of calls and allowed our detectives to follow up on those leads”, said Sheriff Maurer. “Unfortunately those tips did not lead to a suspect. However, the partnerships formed with other agencies remain a vital link for us to successfully bring these ‘cold cases’ to a successful conclusion.”

Jeffrey L. Humrichouser is charged with six counts of rape, a felony of the first degree; six counts of aggravated burglary, a felony of the first degree; one count of felonious assault, a felony of the first degree; seven counts of attempted rape, a felony of the second degree; four counts of gross sexual imposition, a felony of the fourth degree; and one count of disrupting public service, a felony of the fourth degree. The indictment specifies the crime was committed against the elderly as part of the charges returned by the Grand Jury. Humrichouser is scheduled to be arraigned on June 11, 2008 at 9:00 AM in the Wayne County Common Pleas Court.

About the suspect:

Humrichouser currently is serving a two-year sentence in the Mansfield Reformatory for an unrelated charge of felonious assault and vehicular assault. Sentenced in December, 2007 by the Wayne County Common Pleas Court, Humrichouser was transported by deputies to the Ohio Department of Corrections to serve his sentence. Under Ohio law, all felons must submit a DNA specimen which is analyzed by the Ohio Attorney General’s BCI&I Laboratories. The result of that analysis then is entered into the CODIS (Combined DNA Index System).

About CODIS (Combined DNA Index System):

CODIS is a computer software program that links local, state, and national databases of DNA profiles from convicted offenders, unsolved crime scene evidence, and missing persons. Every state in the nation has a statutory provision for the establishment of a DNA database that allows for the collection of DNA profiles from offenders convicted of particular crimes. CODIS software enables state, local, and national law enforcement crime laboratories to compare DNA profiles electronically, thereby linking serial crimes to each other and identifying suspects by matching DNA profiles from crime scenes with profiles from convicted offenders.

About the crimes:

Attached to this release is a time line that identifies the cases that Humrichouser has been charged with and cases in which he currently is identified as a suspect. Additional investigation and laboratory examinations are being conducted and additional charges are possible.

 

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