A man’s DNA collected from a 1994 sexual assault case in California linked to four cold cases decades old in Arizona. Abraham Ramirez, 55, was indicted in Maricopa County Superior Court on nearly a dozen counts of sexual assault and kidnapping. In a news release on September 8, the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office alleged the California case victim’s escape helped lead to this discovery.
1994 Assault Kit Tested
A news release by the Ventura County DA’s Office explained how the DNA testing led to Ramirez’s indictment. In 1994, the Ventura County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a call of a woman who had been assaulted by Ramirez and escaped.
A sexual assault kit was collected following her escape, but due to insufficient evidence, the case was dismissed. However, decades later, as part of VCSAKI, they tested the victim’s sexual assault kit. Ramirez’s DNA was uploaded into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), which resulted in matches to cold cases in Phoenix, Arizona, between 1998 and 2013.
“This case proves that no matter how much time has passed, we will use every tool available to pursue justice and stand with survivors,” Ventura County Sheriff Jim Fryhoff said in the statement. “It is a powerful example of why we remain committed to testing every sexual assault kit in Ventura County.”
Cold Cases Solved
Ramirez was indicted by a grand jury in August on 11 counts of sexual assault and kidnapping. Not only was he linked to the 1994 sexual assault case, but also to four others in Arizona. The four remaining were linked to cold cases in 1998, 1999, and two in 2013.
In the summer of 1998, a teenage girl reported she was walking home when the suspect pulled up beside her in a car, offering her a ride home. She agreed and got into the car, but the suspect drove past her house. She reported to the police that when she tried to escape, the suspect punched her on the side of the face and drove to a secluded area where he sexually assaulted her. After the assault, he dropped her off near her home.
In 1999, only 6 months after the first assault, an 18-year-old woman reported she was sexually assaulted in the Avondale area. She told the police she was approached by the suspect in the car, and she believed he was holding a gun. She said he forced her to get in, hit her in the face after she refused to remove her clothes, and then proceeded to assault her before dropping her off in a different area.
Fast forward to April and May of 2013, a 17 and 20-year-old reported a similar story to the police. They were both approached by the suspect in a car who offered them a ride. They both accepted, and when they began driving, he hit them in the side of their face before sexually assaulting them.
Ventura County’s Initiative
In 2022, VCSAKI was launched as a countywide effort to test every sexual assault kit for DNA and use its findings to bring clarity to the unsolved cases. The United States Department of Justice and the County of Ventura are funding this initiative through grants and are achieving justice for the victims.
“This outcome underscores the power of DNA testing and the critical role of our crime lab in bringing long-delayed justice,” Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko said. “Even decades later, testing these kits can uncover the truth and give survivors their voices back.”
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, officials strongly encourage those individuals to contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.
