Donna Bell (left) and Cherie Bishop (right)
A now-deceased suspect has been linked to two cold case rapes and a homicide over a period of two years in the 1990s. Although justice was delayed in this case, Plymouth (Mass.) County District Attorney Tim Cruz stressed the importance of providing answers to victims’ families whenever possible.
“It is what it is. That [suspect] is dead—there’s nothing we can do about that. But what we can do is bring answers to the family, some closure. The fact that someone may be deceased does not mean we should stop,” said Cruz.
Case background
On June 25, 1991, 28-year-old Cherie Bishop was found dead in Mulberry Park in Brockton, Massachusetts. She was found face down and nude, expect for a pair of red socks and a single diamond earring. Her manner of death was determined to be strangulation. A sexual assault kit was performed at autopsy.
Less than two years later, on April 4, 1993, Donna Bell was walking in Brockton when a white male driving a van grabbed her. He threatened to strangle her with an electrical wire if she did not cooperate. After raping her, the suspect grabbed a sharp object. Fearing he was going to stab her, Bell grabbed for the object as well. It sliced her right hand, but allowed her time to jump from the vehicle and run for help. Two Brockton police officers were nearby and able to provide assistance to Bell, although the suspect got away. Bell died in 2021.
Samples from Bishop’s rape kit yielded a full unknown make DNA profile that was uploaded to CODIS. A rape kit was also performed on Bell after the attack, with those results also uploaded to CODIS. In 2016, investigators linked the two cases to the same suspect through the DNA from the rape kits. But, police still did not have a name.
Advancing technology
In March 2023, evidence from the crimes was transferred to Othram for further analysis in the hopes of new leads in the cold cases. In 2025, Othram identified an individual who was a biological family member of the still-unknown suspect.
Massachusetts State Police requested reference DNA samples from the family member, who cooperated with the investigation, and compared it to the DNA profile of the suspect. This comparison led to the positive identification of the suspect: Robert Carey, born in 1960. Carey died of natural causes in 2025 at the age of 64.
Further investigation revealed, at the time of the crimes, Carey lived within 1.5 blocks of both crime scenes at the Brockton VA Medical Center.
“It is my hope that hearing a resolution like this one gives hope to all the families of victim of unresolved crimes, that relentless police work and scientific breakthroughs can bring the long-awaited answers families have been seeking,” said Massachusetts State Police Colonel Geoffrey Noble.