Melissa Zimmerman’s rape kit sat untested for years before DNA from another case tied Mohamud Bulle to her 2013 assault
NEED TO KNOW
- Mohamud Bulle was convicted of raping Melissa Zimmerman in 2013, CBS Minnesota reported
- The case was solved when DNA from a 2024 attempted-murder probe matched her long-untested rape kit, according to the outlet
- Court documents obtained by PEOPLE said police initially closed the 2013 case after noting the victim did not want to proceed, an assertion that Zimmerman denied in court
A Minneapolis, Minn., man will spend nearly 20 years in prison for raping a woman more than a decade ago — a crime solved when DNA from a newer case matched evidence collected years earlier.
The Hennepin County Sexual Assault Kit Initiative retested backlogged kits and linked Mohamud Bulle to a 2013 attack on Melissa Zimmerman, CBS Minnesota reported, citing a criminal complaint. Zimmerman had been separated from friends after a night out in October 2013 when Bulle assaulted her; a passerby found her minutes later and called 911, the outlet said, per the complaint.
Bulle was sentenced on Wednesday, Nov. 12, to 237 months — nearly 20 years — behind bars for the attack…