GREELEY, Colo. — Greeley Police (GPD) said they have found the person who kidnapped and sexually assaulted a 7-year-old girl 20 years ago.
Jaime “James” Zamora, who GPD said died in 2014, has been identified as the suspect in a cold case from Sept. 18, 2001.
That morning, GPD said a 7-year-old girl and her 8-year-old brother were walking to school near 5th Avenue and 9th Street in northeast Greeley. Zamora, who was waiting near an alley, forced the victim into his car and drove to a secluded area east of Highway 85 and south of the Greeley Airport, according to GPD.
Zamora then sexually assaulted the victim, GPD said. She was able to get away and ran to an Air National Guard gate near the airport.
At the time, the victim provided police with a description of the man who attacked her, but GPD said a suspect was never named.
In August 2019, GPD began working with a DNA technology company that specializes in DNA phenotyping, which is the process of predicting physical appearance and ancestry from unidentified DNA evidence.
Through that work, GPD said they produced a composite image of the suspect and performed generic geological research.
This led them to look into Zamora, who GPD said was a 26-year-old and lived in Greeley in 2001.
GPD said Zamora died in 2014 while living in Wellington.
Evidence was collected from Zamora's autopsy and GPD said his DNA matched the DNA collected after the 2001 assault.
GPD is looking for more information about Zamora. Anyone who knew him or had interactions with him is encouraged to contact Greeley Police detective Robert Cash at (970)350-9601.
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