Random DNA match brings sexual assault case to trial

A woman's emotional testimony detailing a sexual assault by a stranger five years ago in Wilmington could not have been more compelling for jurors to hear.

Yet the real star witness in a New Hanover County Superior Court trial that began this week is DNA, specifically the DNA of a man charged in connection with the crime.

The use of DNA to solve cold cases is on the rise as national and state databases of criminal offenders grow, authorities said. North Carolina is no exception.

Troy D. Simmons, 45, is charged with first-degree counts of sex offense, kidnapping and burglary. Simmons was in state prison serving time for an unrelated rape conviction from Onslow County when a random hit in the national DNA index system about two years ago linked him to the crime in New Hanover County.

Simmons' shaven head and other features bear a remarkable resemblance to a drawing made by a police artist after the assault, based on the victim's description. He maintains his innocence. But DNA material found on part of a condom wrapper left at the assault scene might be the prosecution's trump card.

The Star-News does not name victims or alleged victims of sexual assault. The retired elementary school teacher was 55 when the incident occurred in May 2002. She described going out with friends on the night before Mother's Day, having some drinks at a restaurant and then getting a ride back to a Wilmington condominium owned by a friend who went home earlier in the evening and was sleeping when she arrived.

The woman testified she did not want to drive to her own apartment because she had been drinking, and she accidentally left a key in her host's door when she let herself in. The woman said she settled into a bed in a guest room at the Spirea Drive address and was dozing when a man entered.

"She was blindsided. He was using his body to crush her down before she even knew what hit her," Assistant District Attorney Connie Jordan told the jury in her opening statement.

Evidence left behind

The victim said the man cupped his hand over her mouth so she could not breathe and held a knife to her throat. The assailant told her there were two others outside the room and he was going to kill her. He forced her to submit to oral sex before fleeing.

Jordan said the man att-empted to put on a condom as he assaulted the victim but was unable to do so.

The condominium owner later found part of a condom wrapper on the floor. Material left on the wrapper was put into the national DNA database, and the random hit resulted in charges being filed against Simmons.

Jordan said a second DNA test on the defendant performed by the State Bureau of Investigation confirmed earlier results. Since December 2003, all convicted felons in North Carolina must give samples to the DNA database.

269 cases solved

Through lines of question-ing during cross-examination, defense lawyer Tripp Watson questioned the credibility of the woman's testimony. Watson said during his opening statement that the prosecution's case is "riddled with inconsistencies."

DNA samples taken in North Carolina are analyzed and then uploaded to the state's database, which contains more than 54,000 DNA profiles. The state's database is part of a national DNA database called CODIS, or the Combined DNA Index System.

Investigators can use DNA evidence collected from crime scenes in cases without a suspect to search the database for a match. North Carolina's database has provided leads in solving more than 269 cases, according to the state Attorney General's Office.

A 2004 report by the U.S. Department of Justice found that local law enforcement agencies have evidence from more than 540,000 unsolved crimes, including 52,000 homicides and 169,000 rapes, that had not undergone DNA or other testing that could help pinpoint suspects.

Simmons was convicted of second-degree rape in October 2002 in Onslow County and was serving a 14-year prison sentence when he was charged in connection with the New Hanover County case.

Prosecution testimony in the trial continues today.