DENVER — A suspect has been arrested in Missouri in a Denver sexual assault case from 2004, the Denver Police Department (DPD) announced Wednesday.
DPD said on March 30, 2004, officers responded to the 3700 block of North Stuart Street on a report of a burglary and sexual assault. Officers collected DNA evidence and investigated the case, but they were unable to identify a suspect.
Police said years later, through the use of investigative genetic genealogy DNA research, investigators made a possible connection to 49-year-old Jason Groshart. Cold case investigators learned that he was living in Sedalia, Missouri, and recently obtained DNA evidence that was compared against the DNA evidence recovered in 2004. Police said a direct DNA comparison identified Groshart as the suspect in the sexual assault, and he was arrested Tuesday.
Police said efforts are underway to extradite Groshart to Denver. He's being held for investigation of first-degree sexual assault, first-degree burglary and second-degree kidnapping.
“The arrest of Groshart demonstrates our commitment to victims of crime and that the Denver Police Department never forgets,” said Denver Chief of Police Ron Thomas in a statement. “We will continue to pursue and bring to justice those who harm our community. Groshart committed a crime of violence against a member of our community and thanks to the Genetic Genealogy & Familial Match Searching grant, we hope we are able to provide some relief to the survivor.”
Genetic genealogy is a relatively new technology where DNA samples from crime scenes are specially sequenced and then uploaded to public DNA databases for comparison with the hope of finding a possible relative of the suspect. From there, investigators work through family trees to eventually come up with the suspect's identity.
The $470,000 Genetic Genealogy & Familial Match Searching grant came to Denver's Integrated Cold Case Project From the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance.
RELATED: 'He's going to pay the consequences': Killer sentenced in 1981 slaying of Cherry Hills Village woman
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Investigations & Crime
