October 28 - Arrest in connection with 38-year-old cold case rape and attempted murder MOORESVILLE, NC

In early September 2022, Mooresville Police Department (MPD) Detectives were asked to assist the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations (NCSBI) on a cold case investigation of a rape and attempted murder that occurred 38 years ago in Missouri. The cold case involved a rape and attempted murder that occurred on March 24, 1984, in Columbia, Missouri. The victim encountered an unknown suspect while walking to work and was abducted at knifepoint. The suspect drove the victim to a dead-end road where the victim was raped. The suspect then attempted to murder the victim and discard the victim’s body in a nearby creek. The victim sustained serious life-threatening injuries but survived. In 2020, the case was assigned to a cold case detective with Missouri’s Columbia Police Department (CPD) who utilized new DNA evidence technology to further the investigation. By using this new technology in connection with a commercial genealogy DNA service, a suspect was identified. The suspect was a former resident of Columbia, Missouri who was now a resident of Mooresville. MPD Detectives, working with agents from the NCSBI, were able to assist CPD Detectives in their investigation by covertly obtaining a DNA sample from the suspect in the case. After known samples from the suspect were recovered, they were sent to the CPD for analysis. The collected samples from the suspect matched DNA evidence recovered as part of the original investigation. Based on this DNA match, arrest warrants for the suspect were obtained along with a search warrant for his residence at 110 Ashton Park Drive. The suspect was arrested on October 27 without incident by MPD Detectives, NCSBI Agents, and CPD Detectives. On October 27, 59-year-old James Frederick Wilson of Mooresville was charged with Felony Forcible Rape with a Weapon and Felony Assault in the 1st Degree with a Deadly Weapon. He is being held under a $1 million secured bond at the Iredell County Detention Center and awaiting extradition to Missouri. Anyone with information regarding this case can contact MPD Detectives at 704-664-3311 or contact CPD Detectives at ColumbiaPoliceTipline@Como.gov or 573-874-7400.