Breakthrough in DNA technology leads to arrest in 32-year-old sexual assault cold case

CHARLOTTE — Dulaine Lotharp, 55, has been arrested and charged in connection with a 32-year-old sexual assault cold case.

The case dates back to 1993 and 1994, when two separate sexual assaults occurred in the Charlotte area.

According to police, advancements in DNA technology allowed detectives to retest evidence, leading to Lotharp’s identification as a suspect.

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The first assault took place on July 22, 1993, when a victim reported being sexually assaulted by an unknown suspect.

The victim underwent a sexual assault kit examination at Carolinas Medical Center.

The second incident occurred on August 25, 1994, when another victim was attacked on a wooded path in the same division.

This victim also received a sexual assault kit examination after the attack.

At the time, detectives were unable to identify a suspect due to the limitations of DNA technology.

However, with federal funding, the case was reopened, and DNA samples were retested, leading to Lotharp’s arrest.

‘You relive it completely’

Channel 9’s Glenn Counts spoke with a sexual assault survivor who said she understood what the other two victims went through.

She said her incident occurred when she was just 17 years old. In 2018, Zellie Edwards was eventually arrested in connection with the case.

“Mine was 25 years ago. When I found out, it brought all of that back. All the things you think you may have pushed away or forgotten, you relive them completely,” she explained. “It’s harder to manage when you are older. We cope differently, and we think more logically as we get older, so it’s a lot to process. I think it’s harder now than it was when I was a teenager.”

She said that although Edwards was arrested in her case, she never got justice because the 59-year-old died before he could go to trial.

“I was cheated, definitely ... definitely. I waited 27 years to finally face this,” she expressed.

She said after 32 years, those Lotharp’s victims will have a difficult road ahead.

“Stay strong, pray to whatever God you pray to, make yourself know that it’s not your fault, and we actually have something now that can bring them to justice,” she elaborated.

Lotharp faces multiple charges, including three counts of first-degree rape, two counts of first-degree kidnapping, common law robbery, and communicating threats.

He is currently in the custody of the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office under a $300,000 bond.

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