How Our Investigation Into Untested DNA Evidence Helped Solve a 1983 Murder

ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. This story was originally published in the Cold Justice newsletter, which goes behind the scenes of our investigation into the outrage and promise of untested DNA from rape victims. This is the final installment in the series (for now), but you can sign up to get ProPublica’s biggest stories delivered to your inbox.

I had intended to write this dispatch about the survivors I met while investigating DNA evidence that had gone untested for decades in Baltimore. A few of their cases were solved through unbelievable twists of fate. For many others, their cases are still open and they’re actively searching for answers.

But then last week I learned of a major development that underscores one of the main takeaways from the series: Investigating rapes can help solve other crimes.

Now, the Baltimore County Police Department says that Alphonso Hill, the serial perpetrator police had connected to nearly a dozen rapes via DNA evidence after a detective saw him in a “48 Hours” episode and noticed his resemblance to a police sketch, has just confessed to raping and murdering a 21-year-old college student in 1983. He has also apparently confessed to other crimes, including other rapes.

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