JAMES CITY COUNTY, Va. — Police in James City County said they charged Richard Lee Gibson with rape and abduction following a 1987 cold case.
Investigators said new DNA evidence allowed them to complete a suspect profile that matched Gibson.
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Police said on Dec. 10, 1987, an unknown person abducted and raped a person in a section of the Midlands Apartment Complex that was under construction at the time.
Police were unable to establish a suspect at the time and the case went cold.
In 2019, a new detective was assigned to the case. That detective submitted evidence for DNA analysis but no match was found in the Virginia DNA Data Bank.
On Aug. 4, 2023, a match was finally identified. Police said that the National DNA Data Bank identified Gibson as a match after he was already incarcerated for a 2022 sexual offense in the city of Williamsburg.
In that case, police said he assaulted a woman and later fled Williamsburg by sailboat. He's serving time in that case.
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The DNA match was confirmed on Sept. 7, 2023.
On March 20, 2024, a grand jury indicted Gibson for rape, abduction with intent to defile, two counts of inanimate object penetration, two counts of sodomy, and aggravated sexual battery for the 1987 case.
Police served the indictments to Gibson in prison on March 27, he is scheduled to appear in court on April 1.
