CHARLOTTE — A man was taken into custody in connection with a 27-year-old sexual assault cold case in Mecklenburg County, police said.
Officers with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department say they arrested 48-year-old Eric Howard in Asheville Tuesday after DNA evidence linked him to a 1999 attack.
On Jan. 9, 1999, the victim told police an unknown man wearing a ski mask broke into her Mecklenburg County home and assaulted her before fleeing.
After the attack, police say a DNA profile was obtained from evidence and entered into what they call the Combined DNA Index System. With this evidence on file, detectives investigated the case for decades. In 2022, the DNA profile was sent to an outside lab for further testing, identifying Howard as a potential suspect.
Howard is charged with rape, sexual offense, burglary and kidnapping.
VIDEO: How CMPD used new DNA technology to crack 35-year-old cold case
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