MORGANTOWN — A Wisconsin man was arrested in connection with a 23-year-old sexual assault cold case in Morgantown thanks to advancements in cross-referencing DNA database.
Raymond W. Wise, 67, of Praire Du Chien, Wisc., stands accused of sexually assaulting a woman who was collecting cans in the Morgantown area in 1995. According to police, Wise told the woman he knew of more cans located nearby. When she went to retrieve those cans, Wise allegedly assaulted her.
The initial investigation in 1995 yielded no suspects, but kept and maintained all of the evidence due to the serious nature of the crime.
In 2005, new DNA extraction techniques were utilized by the West Virginia State Police crime lab to retrieve DNA details from the evidence that had been recovered. At that time, the DNA profiles did not result in a match.
In 2017, during a search of the FBI’s National DNA Index System, a match was made with the retrieved DNA to a suspect in the Wisconsin DNA database.
Wise is charged with second-degree sexual assault. He was extradited from Wisconsin on Thursday and transported to the North Central Regional Jail.
Story by Alex Wiederspiel
