COLD CASE: Charlotte man sentenced to 260 years in prison

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A man accused of raping two teen girls in Charlotte 30 years ago has been found guilty and sentenced to seven consecutive sentences totaling 260 years in prison.

Anthony Wyrick, 57, was found guilty of seven of eight charges, including second-degree rape, sexual assault and kidnapping. He was found not guilty of breaking-and-entering.

Police arrested Wyrick two years ago and said DNA evidence tied him to the attack on Freedom Drive in 1985.

Wyrick tied up the two girls with their own clothes then raped them and at the time of the attack, criminal DNA testing did not exist.

"Some smart detective saved this evidence," said Barry Cook, of the Mecklenburg County District Attorney's Office.

"That's really what made all of this possible."

The decades-old case was not without its challenges, which meant tracking down the doctor from a hospital that's since been renamed and officers who initially worked the case but are now retired.

For the two victims, it also meant reliving the trauma.

"These young women had to live their whole lives believing that there wouldn't be justice," said assistant district attorney Leslie Stephens.

In his closing remarks, the judge reminded one victim, although delayed, justice had not been denied.

Since 2006, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department detectives solved 170 cold case rapes.

In North Carolina, there is no statute of limitations on a felony charge.

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