DNA match leads to charges in 1990s rape cases

A former Lawrence resident living in California has been charged in three rape cases from the mid-1990s after police said DNA tests linked him to the crimes.

Cory T. Elkins, 38, appeared Wednesday in Douglas County District Court on 11 counts stemming from sexual assaults that took place in 1993, 1994 and 1995. Among the charges were six rape counts — involving each victim.

Police said Elkins lived in Lawrence from 1992 to 1998. However, he most recently resided in Sacramento, Calf., where he was required to provide a DNA sample after being placed on probation in a theft case.

That sample was placed in a national DNA database, the same system that Lawrence police and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation had used over the last few years trying to match suspect genetic profile to evidence found in two of the three unsolved rapes. After a match was found, police checked other attacks and found a third match.

Douglas County District Attorney Charles Branson commended Lawrence police for their persistence.

“The Lawrence Police Department did a great job keeping a cold case alive,” he said.

Elkins remains in jail on a $250,000 bond.