EUSTIS, Fla. – DNA from a Florida prisoner has been matched to samples taken from an elderly woman who was raped in 2015 in Eustis, police said.
The woman was asleep on her couch around 2 a.m. on April 23, 2015 when she felt someone raping her, according to a report from the Eustis Police Department. She said she couldn't see the attacker, because he was pressing something, such as a pillow or blanket, against her face and had his hands around her throat, the affidavit said.
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After a few minutes, the attacker got off the victim and rummaged through the kitchen before leaving the home.
The elderly victim waited until she was sure he was gone, then she woke up her 15-year-old granddaughter, who was asleep in another room, and had her call police.
The granddaughter did not see or hear the attack. The victim's cellphone, wallet and a pack of cigarettes were stolen, the report said.
DNA evidence was collected from the victim, but there was no information about a potential suspect and the case went cold.
A break came on April 21. A DNA analyst was processing a sample from Donte Tyrone McCain, 37, who is serving 20 years in the Lancaster Correctional Institution in Trenton for robbery with a deadly weapon and attempted kidnapping.
When McCain's DNA was processed through the Combined DNA Index System, it matched to DNA collected from the 2015 rape in Eustis, according to the affidavit.
An investigation found that McCain was living less than two miles from the victim's home at the time of the crime. Detectives also said they found that McCain had faced rape charges twice in the past in other states but was never convicted.
Authorities took another DNA sample from McCain to reaffirm the DNA match. When it came back positive, detectives issued an arrest warrant for McCain on July 20 on charges of burglary and sexual battery.