The laboratory team at the Ohio Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) in Richfield acted quickly to help law enforcement identify a suspect in a recent abduction and rape in Canton.
A 25-year-old college student was abducted early Aug. 1 from the parking lot of Aultman Hospital in Canton, forced to drive to another location, and raped. She returned to the hospital for help.
When Russell Edelheit, a lab supervisor at BCI in Richfield, heard about the attack on the news, he called the Canton Police Department and offered the lab’s help in processing the evidence.
The police submitted the evidence to BCI at 9 a.m. on Aug. 2 and a laboratory team worked through the night to expedite the Sexual Assault Kit. The lab completed the testing and reported a Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) match to the police within 24 hours.
“The assistance from BCI was crucial to bringing this case to a quick resolution and taking a violent sex offender off the street,” said Capt. Jack Angelo of the Canton Police Department. “We have always been pleased with BCI’s assistance. Their expedited services are excellent and we would not hesitate to call on them again.”
The 30-year-old suspect, a registered sex offender, was arrested around noon on Aug. 3 when agents with the U.S. Marshals Service tracked him down in a library in Atlanta. He is charged with abduction, felonious assault, and two counts of rape in connection with the attack at Aultman. The suspect also has outstanding warrants for his arrest on charges of sexual imposition and public indecency in Stark and Muskingum counties. The suspect’s bond was set at $7 million.
Expedited services available
Fast-track services are available to BCI’s Ohio law enforcement partners. The lab will prioritize DNA cases upon request when these criminal elements are present:
- The suspect is unknown.
- The case involves a violent crime against a person, such as rape, assault, or murder.
- Evidence is directly related to the crime, for example a sexual assault kit, clothing left by the suspect, or cigarette butt left by the suspect.
- The samples consist of body fluids, as opposed to touch-DNA samples.
To request expedited services, call 855-BCI-OHIO (855-224-6446).