The success of a unique cold case unit in Cuyahoga County, Ohio continues with the identification of three rapists—impacting six victims—thanks to forensic genetic genealogy and familial searching.
The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office’s G.O.L.D. Unit (Genetic Operations Linking DNA) announced they have now identified three suspects in rapes that occurred from 1993 to 2005.
Serial rapists
Long ago, investigators linked three rapes from 1993 to 1998 to a group of men. They had previously identified two of the men, and now familial searching has identified a third.
Carlis Conley’s DNA implicates him in the rape of a 33-year-old female on Oct. 21, 1993. Conley (known as John Doe #10 until now), Frankie Graham (previously John Doe #9) and two other men forced the woman into their van before sexually assaulting her multiple times. After the assault, they tied her hands and feet together and shoved her out of the vehicle.
Then, on June 7, 1994, Conley, Thomas Graham (previously John Doe #11) and two additional suspects lured a 25-year-old woman into their vehicle, where they raped her multiple times at knifepoint. Again, after the assault, they shoved her out of the car.
Years later, on Aug. 30, 1998, Conley, Thomas Graham and an additional unknown suspect forced a 27-year-old victim into their vehicle. There was no knife this time, but the woman was raped multiple times before the suspects fled the scene.
Conley’s DNA—known only at the time by John Doe #10—was developed from all three rape kits, but did not produce any CODIS leads. Recently, the profile was submitted to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations for CODIS familial testing. The profile was matched to Conley, and subsequent testing of a sample taken from him years prior confirmed the match. Conley died in August 2012 at the age of 79.
Genealogical lead
Formerly known as John Doe #103, DNA has tied Kenneth Edmond, now 62 years old, to two rapes in a 13-month timespan. The first was Sept. 15, 2000, when Edmond allegedly assaulted a 72-year-old female who was homeless at the time. He approached the victim and shoved her to the ground before sexually assaulting her. After the rape, Edmond fled the scene, while the victim walked around asking for help. A good Samaritan called the police, who helped transport the victim to a nearby hospital where a rape kit was collected.
Then, on Oct. 30, 2001, Edmond again approached a female victim, this one 21-years-old. He grabbed her by the neck, forced her to the ground and raped her multiple times. After, he stole money from the victim’s purse before fleeing. Again, a good Samaritan helped the victim contact police and get transported to the hospital for a rape kit.
Once DNA was developed from the rape kits, investigators noted the two cases were linked but the unknown profile did not produce any leads in CODIS. Then, in 2022, the unknown DNA profile was submitted to Gene by Gene to see if genetic genealogy could help. Investigative genetic genealogists with Gene by Gene and Firebird Forensics Group, as well as GOLD Unit investigators, were able to connect the unknown John Doe #103 DNA profile to that of Edmond.
After obtaining Edmond’s DNA, subsequent tests confirmed that the DNA in the victims’ sexual assault kits matched that of the suspect, who was arrested on Dec. 6, 2023.
Familial searching lead
Lastly, on April 20, 2005, a man—now identified as Noland McKinnon—offered a 20-year-old female a ride. Once the victim was inside his vehicle, McKinnon drove under a bridge and raped her. After the assault, the victim went to a nearby hospital where a sexual assault kit was collected. A male DNA profile was developed from the victim’s sexual assault kit but did not produce any leads in CODIS.
The DNA sample tied to John Doe #161 was sent to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations for CODIS familial testing. The profile was matched to McKinnon, and subsequent testing of a sample previously taken from him confirmed the match. Conley died in February 2018 at the age of 48.
The G.O.L.D. Unit
In 2020, the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office’s launched the G.O.L.D. unit through funds provided to the office’s Sexual Assault Kit Tast Force from the U.S. Department of Justice. The G.O.L.D. Unit quickly contracted with genealogy vendor Gene by Gene for a pilot project that included genealogical searches for 20 DNA profiles connected to cold case sexual assaults.
To date, 34 DNA profiles in violent crime cases have been submitted to Gene By Gene for forensic genetic genealogy, six offenders have been identified, and 10 rape cases have been solved. In addition, 17 DNA profiles have been submitted to BCI for CODIS familial searching, two offenders have been identified, and four rape cases have been solved.