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Police solve 28-year-old sexual assault, brutal murder of Virginia Beach woman

Posted at 10:03 PM, Oct 01, 2015
and last updated 2015-10-01 22:10:50-04

Virginia Beach, Va.- A 28-year-old crime has finally been solved, and the Virginia Beach Police Department is once again recognized for their passion and dedication to justice.

On December 6, 1986, 54-year-old Carol Morrison was found dead floating in Hell’s Point Creek . She had last been seen a few days earlier visiting Fat Rogers Nightclub in Virginia Beach.

An autopsy revealed that she had been sexually assaulted and left for dead after her throat was slit.  DNA was then collected for evidence and submitted to a state lab.

In 1986, DNA technology was not advanced enough to properly search for and identify suspects, so no arrests were made.

Twenty-eight years later, The Virginia Beach Police Cold Case Homicide Unit reopened the case and gathered voluntary DNA samples from 27 males. Police wanted to eliminate these men as suspects and narrow the investigation’s focus.

One DNA sample was determined to be a direct match. The sample belonged to a Virginia Beach man who had moved to Texas. Police found out in July of 2015 that the man had died.