DNA breakthrough solves a 30-year-old Indiana cold case

The Indiana State Police Cold Case Unit and a forensic lab worked together to identify the suspect nearly 30 years after the crime.

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Nearly three decades after a woman reported being raped in Scott County, Indiana State Police say they've arrested a suspect thanks to advances in DNA technology.

53-year-old Sammy Riley, who now lives in Tennessee, was taken into custody Saturday in connection with a sexual assault that dates back to September 1996. He's facing one count of rape, a Level 1 felony, and is currently being held at the Scott County Jail.

Case details

Back in 1996, the victim told then-Detective Delmar Gross, who is now a lieutenant, that she'd been raped after leaving the former Austin Lounge in Austin, Indiana, with two men. She gave investigators a name she thought belonged to her attacker, but DNA testing later ruled that person out.

Fast forward to June of this year, when an Indiana State Police forensic scientist brought new hope to the case. Using advanced DNA technology, the lab identified a close genetic relative of the original suspect profile. That breakthrough gave Cold Case Detective Matt Busick the lead he needed.

Busick followed up with interviews and eventually identified Riley, a former Scott County, resident who had moved to Tennessee. Working closely with the Scott County Prosecutor's Office, the detective gathered additional DNA samples to build the case and requested an arrest warrant.

A timeline trip back to Indiana

The timing worked in the investigators' favor. When Riley returned to Indiana for a family matter, Detective Busick coordinated with the Scott County Sheriff's Department, and Riley was arrested without incident on Saturday, November 1.

The investigation brought together multiple agencies, including the ISP Cold Case Unit, the Indiana State Police Laboratory in Indianapolis, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations, and the Scott County Prosecutor's Office.

Riley has a court date set for Monday at 2 p.m.

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