Suspect in 1984 Columbia assault and rape seeks public defender
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A man accused in a 1984 assault and rape in northeast Columbia told a judge Wednesday that hopes to get a public defender.
James F. Wilson appeared by video before Judge Kimberly Shaw and told her he applied for a public defender. A hearing on his lawyer status is scheduled for next Wednesday.
Shaw ordered Wilson, who appeared via video, to continue to be held without bond at the Boone County Jail. At the hearing, a Boone County prosecutor read a letter from the alleged victim, who asked that Wilson be held without bond.
Wilson has been charged with first-degree assault and forcible rape.
Authorities in North Carolina arrested Wilson on Oct. 27. Investigators submitted a sexual assault kit from the victim for DNA testing after reopening the 1984 case in 2020.
Investigators in North Carolina collected hair from a disposable razor found in Wilson's trash. DNA from the hair matched the profile from the sexual assault kit, according to the Columbia Police Department.
Investigators accuse Wilson of forcing the victim into his vehicle at knifepoint while she walked to work on March 24, 1984. Wilson allegedly slashed the woman's throat with the knife following the sexual assault in the 4000 block of Wellington Drive.
According to a Columbia Missourian article from 1984, the victim notified investigators after walking to a nearby home following the attack.
Wilson returned to Boone County on Friday after he was extradited from North Carolina.
