Suspect in 2007 home invasion and attempted rape arrested after DNA match, police say

RENTON, Wash. -- DNA evidence collected from a 2007 home invasion and attempted rape led to the arrest Thursday of a 27-year-old suspect in Renton, police said.

On Nov. 25, 2007, a woman told Renton police that a stranger knocked on her door and asked to borrow her phone. After she handed him the cell phone, the man forced his way into the victim's apartment and sexually assaulted her at knifepoint. During a struggle, she was able to hit him with a pot and then escaped to a neighbor's apartment.

Police collected blood evidence at the scene, but there were no DNA matches at the time and police were never able to identify a suspect.

However, in August 2015, the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab notified Renton police that a DNA match for a suspect in the 2007 case had just been made with a man being investigated by the King County Sheriff's Office for a 2015 case of indecent liberties.

The Renton case was reopened and led to Thursday's arrest, police said.

“This is great example of the value of DNA evidence," said Michael Luther, commander in charge of the Renton Police Department's Investigations Division. "Without it, we would likely have never been able to solve this case.  Hopefully this will bring some closure to the victim after all these years.”