{"id":314638,"date":"2026-05-29T22:48:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T22:48:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/314638\/"},"modified":"2026-05-29T22:48:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T22:48:10","slug":"1997-texas-cold-case-solved-after-dna-testing-leads-to-arrest-in-midland-sexual-assault","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/314638\/","title":{"rendered":"1997 Texas cold case solved after DNA testing leads to arrest in Midland sexual assault"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\" article <\/p>\n

AUSTIN, Texas – Texas DPS have identified and arrested a man accused of sexually assaulting a Midland woman nearly 30 years ago.<\/p>\n

Advanced DNA testing and genetic genealogy helped revive the 1997 cold case.<\/p>\n

Details of the 1997 Midland Park Mall abduction <\/p>\n

What we know:<\/p>\n

61-year-old James Lee Woodard was arrested in Big Spring last month and charged with aggravated sexual assault in connection with the 1997 attack, according to Texas DPS.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

The case dates to Sept. 1, 1997, when Midland police responded to a report of a sexual assault at Midland Park Mall. Investigators said a 49-year-old woman was taking out trash when an unidentified man grabbed her, threatened her with a box cutter and forced her into a light-colored van.<\/p>\n

Authorities said the woman was driven around the area by another suspect while the assault occurred before she was eventually released from the vehicle.<\/p>\n

How Texas investigators kept the cold case alive <\/p>\n

Timeline:<\/p>\n

For years, investigators pursued leads, interviewed witnesses and submitted DNA evidence to the Combined DNA Index System, known as CODIS, but no arrests were made.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

In 2001, the Midland County District Attorney\u2019s Office presented the case to a grand jury in the 142nd District Court. The grand jury issued an indictment tied to the unknown DNA profile, a step that preserved the case by eliminating concerns about the statute of limitations, officials said.<\/p>\n

The investigation gained new momentum in March 2023 when the Texas Rangers and the Midland Police Department selected the case for the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative, or SAKI, a federally funded program that supports investigations of unsolved sexual assaults.<\/p>\n

Genetic genealogy and DNA testing \"\" <\/p>\n

Dig deeper:<\/p>\n

Evidence was resubmitted for advanced DNA testing and genetic genealogy research through Bode Technology. Investigators said the testing produced a lead in 2025, which Texas Rangers used to further develop the case.<\/p>\n

That work led authorities to identify Woodard as a suspect in 2026.<\/p>\n

On April 1, the Midland County District Attorney\u2019s Office presented the findings to a grand jury, which reissued the aggravated sexual assault indictment and named Woodard as the defendant, according to DPS.<\/p>\n

Suspect arrested <\/p>\n

What’s next:<\/p>\n

Texas Rangers, assisted by the Midland and Big Spring police departments, arrested Woodard at a convenience store in Big Spring the following day.<\/p>\n

The Source: Information in this article was provided by Texas DPS.<\/p>\n

Crime and Public Safety<\/a>Texas<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"article AUSTIN, Texas – Texas DPS have identified and arrested a man accused of sexually assaulting a Midland…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":314639,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[1046,223,27,29,28,216,393],"class_list":["post-314638","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-crime-publicsafety","tag-news","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news","tag-tx","tag-us"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/314638","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=314638"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/314638\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/314639"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=314638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=314638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=314638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}