Credit: City of Columbia
On Oct. 27 at approximately 6 a.m. the Columbia Police Department and North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (NCSBI) arrested James Frederick Wilson, 59, at his home in Mooresville, North Carolina.
Wilson was arrested for forcible rape with a weapon and first-degree assault with a deadly weapon. His arrest brings an end to a 38-year-long investigation into the rape and attempted murder of a Columbia resident in 1984. Wilson is being held at the Iredell County Jail in North Carolina with a $1 million bond.
On March 24, 1984, at approximately 8 p.m. near the 4000 block of Wellington Drive, Columbia, the victim encountered the suspect, whom the victim did not know, while walking to work on Wilkes Boulevard near Providence Road.
The victim told officers they were abducted at knifepoint by the suspect. The suspect drove the victim to the dead-end of Wellington Drive where he parked his car and then raped the victim. After the sexual assault, the suspect attempted to murder the victim with a knife. The victim sustained serious life-threatening injuries as a result.
The suspect attempted to discard the victim’s body in a nearby creek. The victim laid still in the creek until they were able to seek help.
Officers with the Columbia Police Department arrived and took the victim to the hospital where they were stabilized. During the investigation, the professional staff of the University of Missouri Hospital collected a sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) kit from the victim.
The men and women of the Columbia Police Department worked on this case for many years. Despite pursuing every lead available, the suspect remained unidentified.
In March 2020 this case was assigned to Detective Renee Wilbarger, one of the department’s cold case investigators. Wilbarger examined this case carefully to ensure all the evidence had been examined under the lens of modern forensic methods.
In February 2021, the DNA evidence from the case was sent to Othram Inc., and Othram scientists used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing to develop a comprehensive genealogical profile for the unknown male suspect. Othram then returned leads to Wilbarger. Using DNA genealogy, the old police reports of this case and other investigative methods, she was able to identify Wilson as a potential suspect in this case.
With the assistance of the NCSBI, Wilbarger matched DNA from Wilson to the suspect DNA collected in 1984.
On Oct. 27, a team of Columbia Police Detectives traveled to the home of the victim of this case. They met with the victim and let them know that after almost 40 years, an arrest had been made. The name of the victim and certain details have been withheld out of respect for their privacy.
The Columbia Police Department commends the excellent work of Wilbarger and the effort and sacrifice of all the officers and detectives who worked on this case in 1984. They set the foundation for our current generation of detectives to relentlessly pursue similar suspects.
Republished courtesy of City of Columbia (MO).