PULLMAN, Wash. — The Pullman Police Department (PPD) arrested a man at a Spokane job site on Thursday in connection to an 18-year-old cold case out of Pullman. The 47-year-old man is facing multiple felony charges stemming from a series of home invasions and sexual assaults that occurred between Nov. 2003 and March 2004.
At the request of PPD detectives, the Spokane Police Department Special Investigations Unit located and arrested Kenneth Downing of Elk at 10:45 a.m. on Thursday.
According to a press release from PPD, the arrest was made possible through DNA matches using evidence collected at the time the crimes occurred. Forensic Genetic Genealogy was used to search current DNA profiles contained within genealogical sources. Those profiles led to a link between Downing and the DNA evidence collected in the 2003 and 2004 cases.
Downing was booked into the Whitman County Jail and will have his first court appearance on Friday at 9 a.m. He is charged with four counts of rape in the first degree, one count of indecent liberties, two counts of burglary in the first degree, three counts of assault in the second degree, and three counts of unlawful imprisonment, related to both incidents.