COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Columbus police have identified the suspect in a 1997 rape case, connecting the man to other sexual assault cases across the country.
California native Sean McNulty, who died in 1997, has been identified as the suspect in the Columbus case from nearly 30 years ago. DNA collected at the crime scene was analyzed in 2005 but yielded no leads. McNulty’s DNA, though, was positively identified from other cases across the country and matched the DNA collected in Columbus.
“I am grateful that our Division’s hard work and tenacity over the years has brought closure to the victim in this violent case,” Columbus Chief of Police Elaine Bryant said.
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DNA profiles from five rape cold cases all matched McNulty, with two taking place in California in the 1980s and two happening in Michigan in the 1990s. He was also accused in a rape case in Bloomington, Indiana, in 1993.
Authorities across the country were able to contact some of McNulty’s victims, including the woman in the Columbus case, who told police it felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders…