The Fairfax County, Virginia, police on Tuesday announced an arrest in an alleged rape from 1988.
George Thomas Jr., who is now 61, is being charged with two counts of rape, one count of sodomy and one count of abduction, Cmdr. Ed O鈥機arroll said at a briefing. He鈥檚 being held without bond in Montgomery County, Maryland, where he was arrested at a Metro station.
O鈥機arroll said at a briefing that the victim in the case left her job on the night of Aug. 24, 1988, at the Skyline Mall, on Leesburg Pike, when two men approached and attacked her in the parking garage. They made the woman, who was 24 at the time, drive to a secluded Northern Virginia location, then led her into the woods, where they both raped her, O鈥機arroll said. Then they forced her back into her car, made her drive to another location and raped her again, he said, before she escaped.
鈥淎n abundant amount of forensic evidence was collected from the scene,鈥� including fingerprints from the victim鈥檚 car and a description of one of the men that led to a composite sketch, O鈥機arroll said.
Still, no one was arrested, even after DNA was found and searched against Virginia and national databases, he added. Even so, 鈥渢he FCPD never forgot about this case,鈥� O鈥機arroll said. 鈥淲e always hoped for a forensic development.鈥�
In 2020, though, 鈥渁n astute FCPD fingerprint examiner鈥� matched one of those fingerprints to one on an unrelated Alexandria arrest record that was on file. From there, O鈥機arroll said, they were able to use DNA to connect Gregory Allen Thomas, George Thomas鈥� younger brother, to the rape. Both had had 鈥減olice involvement鈥� before, he added.
The younger Thomas had died, and George Thomas was living in Arlington, O鈥機arroll said. Eventually, police were able to collect a sample from something George Thomas had thrown away 鈥� 鈥淗e might have smoked his last cigar,鈥� O鈥機arroll said 鈥� and when they got a match, Thomas was arrested by U.S. marshals and the Metro Transit police Monday.
When Fairfax County police interviewed Thomas, O鈥機arroll said, 鈥淗e made no statement to us that he was involved, made a claim that he had no idea what we were talking about. I beg to differ.鈥�
O鈥機arroll said victim specialists from the department were with the victim Tuesday 鈥渢o ensure the victim is receiving the appropriate care and resources.鈥�
New and old technology
While the high technology of DNA examination was instrumental in identifying a suspect, police said it was the old-fashioned tools of fingerprints and composite sketches that made the big difference.
Police Chief Kevin Davis credited 鈥済ood police work at the scene of this crime in 1988鈥� with paving the way for the case to be solved. O鈥機arroll said, 鈥淭he science behind fingerprint analysis is amazing. It’s gotten better over the decades. So, we’re fortunate that that arrest [of George Thomas] took place.鈥�
Dick Cline, the detective who was originally assigned to the case in 1988, said the arrest was 鈥渞ewarding.鈥�
Cline pointed out that he鈥檇 gotten a call just a month ago about a similar case he鈥檇 worked on from 1989 that was solved with new technology.
鈥淓ven though it’s more than 30 years later, it’s a blessing. It’s a blessing from above that finally some justice will prevail,鈥� Cline said.
O鈥機arroll added that anyone with more information about this or any other such case should call them at 703-246-7800, option 8. 鈥淚t’s never too late to come forward, to share and to report,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou will be believed.鈥�
Davis said the composite sketch of the suspect was also 鈥渦ncanny鈥� in its resemblance.
鈥淭hat composite sketch, the collection of a fingerprint, and now, lo and behold, genetic genealogy research — it’s not going to be too long before there’s going to be no such thing as a whodunit crime in America.鈥�
