DNA evidence helped police arrest a man who they say attacked and raped a woman at a bus stop in Gaithersburg, Maryland, nearly two years ago.
A woman was waiting for a bus at Watkins Mill Road and Travis Lane on the morning of Oct. 6, 2017 when a man grabbed her and pulled her toward a wooded area next to the bus stop, Montgomery County police said. The man then raped her and left the area.
Police arrested 29-year-old David Lee Williams, of Germantown, on Tuesday.
Investigators said DNA evidence from a burglary in Gaithersburg on Aug. 7, 2017 matched the DNA from the rape.
Detectives studied both investigations and saw that a "David" was mentioned as a person of interest in each case.
Cold case investigators later identified Williams as the possible suspect and obtained a warrant for his DNA.
Tests revealed that Williams' DNA matched the DNA taken from the scene of the rape and the attempted burglary, according to police.
Williams was charged with first-degree rape, first- and second-degree assault and reckless endangerment. Police expect to issue more charges related to the burglary.
Williams is being held without bond.
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In the weeks after the assault, police worked with Parabon NanoLabs, a DNA technology company in Virginia, to create a sketch showing how the suspect may look using his DNA.
The information from the DNA revealed the suspect was a black man with a brown to dark brown skin color, brown eye color, black hair color and zero freckles. The suspect's ancestry is 79 percent African.
While DNA can reveal the suspect's ancestry and certain features, a person's age, body mass, hair style and other descriptions cannot be determined through DNA.
"The dreadlocks in this particular composite came from working with the victim," Montgomery County Police Officer Rick Goodale said.
