WILLIAM D. ROESSLER
Deputy State’s Attorney
FRANK R. WEATHERSBEE
State’s Attorney
THOMAS J. FLECKENSTEIN
Deputy State’s Attorney
STATE’S ATTORNEY FOR ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY
7 Church Circle, Suite 200
Annapolis, Maryland 21401
(410) 222-1740 FAX (410) 222-1196
E-MAIL: aacsao@aacounty.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Kristin Fleckenstein (410) 222-1740 ext. 3945 or (410) 279-7893
kfleckenstein@aacounty.org
Montgomery County Police Public Information Office
240-773-5030
MONTGOMERY COUNTY 1987 COLD CASE RAPE SOLVED
WITH DNA EVIDENCE AND MATCHED TO ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY
CONVICTED, SERIAL RAPIST
Annapolis, MD - - July 23, 2012. Thanks to the power of DNA evidence, a Silver Spring
cold case rape from 1987 has been solved. Montgomery County Police were able to
close the 25 year-old case via a DNA database hit that resulted in a match to a convicted,
serial rapist. The victim, who was 20 at the time, now lives in Anne Arundel County,
Maryland and has been contacted by authorities as to the findings.
The DNA from the perpetrator matched that of two solved cold cases in Anne Arundel
County. In 2008 those rape cases from 1988 were solved through the same CODIS
database.
William Joseph Trice, then 47, of 428 Lincoln Hill Road in Eagle Bridge, New York was
taken into custody without incident on November 20, 2008 at his workplace in upstate
New York. He made a living as a truck driver. The New York State Police played a
significant role in the collection of DNA evidence and the surveillance of Trice prior to
his arrest. He was then brought Anne Arundel County and tried for one of those cases in
January of 2010. Six days after his conviction by a jury, Trice committed suicide by
hanging himself in his jail cell while awaiting sentencing.
In 2005, Anne Arundel County Police received information from a CODIS search that the
suspect DNA profile from each of the Anne Arundel County cold cases matched.
However, there was no specific DNA profile match on record in the system that would
lead to a suspect. In July of 2008 evidence from one of the rape cases was reviewed. A
fingerprint recovered from the scene of an August 1988 rape matched that of a known
individual in the latent fingerprint database. With the fingerprint matched to a name,
authorities were able to secure a DNA sample from the suspect. That sample was
unwittingly taken from the suspect while in New York State at a traffic stop. The sample
matched that of the DNA profile taken from evidence in the 1988 Anne Arundel County
unsolved rapes.
On August 21, 1988 the first known victim returned home from work at a local restaurant
at approximately 3 am. The defendant is alleged to have made his way into her home and
raped her. Later that year, on December 11th, another woman arrived home, also at 3 am.
She was attacked and raped while still outside her residence. At the time there were no
additional cases related to the defendant. However, the Montgomery County Police
recently ran the evidence from their 1987 cold case and got a hit that linked the DNA to
Trice. In that case, the 20 year-old victim was awakened at 4 am in her apartment by the
defendant who had gained access through a window and raped her. What has been a 25
year-old cold case was then solved.
Due to the similar patterns in the rape cases and the relative short window of time
between them, the Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Frank Weathersbee encourages
jurisdictions in the surrounding area with unsolved rapes from the mid to late 1980’s to
review the evidence and determine whether a DNA profile can be run for a CODIS
match. Anyone with further questions should contact Chief Investigator David Cordle at
410-222-1740 ext. 3863.
Anyone with information about the Montgomery County case or possible related cases in
Montgomery County is asked to contact the Montgomery County Police – Major Crimes
Division at 240-773-5070. Media inquiries regarding the Montgomery County case can
be directed to the Montgomery County Police – Public Information Office at 240-7735030. Additional information about the Montgomery County case can be found at
www.mymcpnews.com.
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