Roy Junior Proctor, 46, was taken into custody after the Fayetteville Police Department's cold case unit says it linked him to the crimes
A North Carolina man has been arrested in connection with the brutal rape and kidnapping of a cleaning woman nearly 30 years ago, police said this week.
Roy Junior Proctor, 46, was taken into custody after the Fayetteville Police Department's cold case unit linked him to the crimes using DNA, authorities said. Investigators said a genetic sample taken from Proctor in September, when he was arrested in a separate case, matched DNA from the victim’s 1992 rape kit.
Proctor is being held in the Cumberland County Detention Center in lieu of $1 million bail, officials said. He has been charged with attempted first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, first-degree rape, first-degree sex offense and felonious larceny.
“This case stands as a reminder ... the law enforcement community will not rest until we get justice,” said Cumberland County District Attorney Billy West at a press conference Monday.
On the night of Sept. 25 1992, the unnamed victim was carrying cleaning supplies to her car from her housekeeping job at Lafayette Memorial Park, police said. She was attacked and knocked unconscious. She woke up in the trunk of a vehicle and was dragged into the woods, where she was beaten, raped and left for dead, authorities said.
Two other suspects remain at large, investigators said.
Her case remained a priority for the police because investigators said at the time they had never seen a victim so badly beaten.
Lt. Michael Petty said she had repeatedly traveled to Raleigh over the years to advocate for sexual assault victims. Her efforts, he said, led to laws that improved communication between investigating departments and made rape kit testing easier to obtain.
"She has been a shining beacon for sexual assault victims across the country," Petty said.
RELATED STORIES
