DNA evidence helped solve an Austin's woman's sexual assault in Arizona from The man was caught years later in California and his DNA was put into a national database.
The assault happened when Ashley Spence was in college at Arizona State. A man came into her apartment in the middle of the night, covered her face with a pillow and nearly suffocated her. He sexually assaulted her, hit her in the face and threatened her. The man then slipped away. Spence reported the assault and it was investigated, but no one was linked to the crime, leaving Spence living in fear.
Seven years later, police in California caught Kevin Lee Francois trying to break into a home with three college women inside. When police searched his home, they were shocked by what they found. Francois was arrested, and his DNA was put into a national database. Francois was sentenced to and a half years in the Arizona Department of Corrections.
California, at the time of Francois' arrest, did require DNA collection. Since his arrest, Arizona has started requiring DNA collection during certain felony arrests. In Texas, HB mandates that booking facilities collect a DNA sample from all arrestees charged with a felony occurring on or after September 1, , according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Now the FBI is looking into the use of rapid DNA, technology that would take about 90 minutes to eliminate or link someone to a crime. Monday night's CrimeWatch will explore how this technology could help find potential new victims in the case of Raul Meza Jr. What has turned out to be one of the more controversial pieces of Gov.
