The Denver Police Department (DPD) and Denver District Attorney’s Office announce the arrest of a suspect in a Denver sexual assault cold case from 2004. Jason Groshart was taken into custody earlier this week in Missouri thanks to the continued determination of investigators, DNA evidence, and investigative genetic genealogy DNA research.
On March 30, 2004, Denver Police officers responded to the 3700 block of North Stuart Street on a report of a burglary and sexual assault. DPD officers collected DNA evidence and investigated the case but were unable to identify a suspect at that time.
Years later, through investigative genetic genealogy, a possible connection to Groshart was established. Denver Police Cold Case investigators learned that Groshart was living in Sedalia, Missouri, and recently obtained DNA evidence that was compared against the DNA recovered in 2004. Utilizing the Denver Police Crime Laboratory, a direct DNA comparison identified Groshart as the suspect in the March 2004 sexual assault.
Groshart remains in the Pettis County Jail in Missouri and efforts are underway to extradite him to Denver. Groshart is being held for investigation of First Degree Sexual Assault, First Degree Burglary, and Second Degree Kidnapping.
“The arrest of Groshart demonstrates our commitment to victims of crime and that the Denver Police Department never forgets,” said Denver Chief of Police Ron Thomas. “We will continue to pursue and bring to justice those who harm our community. Groshart committed a crime of violence against a member of our community and thanks to the Genetic Genealogy & Familial Match Searching grant, we hope we are able to provide some relief to the survivor.”
The identification of Groshart was possible thanks to investigative genetic genealogy through Denver’s Integrated Cold Case Project. This project is funded in part through a 2020 Genetic Genealogy & Familial Match Searching grant, awarded to the Denver Police Department by the Bureau of Justice Assistance for a total of $470,000.
The successful model of Denver’s Integrated Cold Case Project was launched in 2004 as a partnership between the Denver Police Cold Case Unit, Denver Police Crime Laboratory, and Denver District Attorney’s Office. Since 2004, Denver’s Integrated Cold Case Project has received more than $4.2 Million in grant funding from the National Institute of Justice, allowing the partners to dedicate additional resources to solving Denver’s cold cases.
Republished courtesy of the State of Denver.