DNA from a cigarette butt and genetic genealogy helped Lawrence, Kansas, investigators identify and arrest 58‑year‑old David James Zimbrick in connection with child sexual‑assault cases from 2000 and 2003. Zimbrick faces charges including rape and aggravated criminal sodomy and is being held on $1 million bond. Investigators say a 2016 DNA index match tied the two cases together, and later genealogy work led to the suspect; officials are investigating three other similar incidents.
Cigarette Butt and Genetic Genealogy Lead to Arrest in Two Decades‑Old Child Sexual Assault Cases in Kansas
Lawrence Kansas Police Department/FacebookLawrence Kansas Police Department Press Conference
Police in Lawrence, Kansas, say DNA recovered from a single cigarette butt and advances in genetic genealogy helped identify and arrest a suspect in two child sexual‑assault cases from 2000 and 2003.
At a press conference on Dec. 30, Police Chief Rich Lockhart announced that DNA from the cigarette butt, combined with genetic genealogy analysis, led investigators to 58‑year‑old David James Zimbrick. Zimbrick was taken into custody in Raytown, Missouri, and is now facing charges in two separate incidents.
Jackson County Detention CenterDavid James Zimbrick, Mugshot
Charges and custody: According to reporting by KCUR and statements from Lawrence police, Zimbrick faces charges that include rape, aggravated criminal sodomy and aggravated indecent liberties with a child in the 2000 and 2003 cases. He is being held in the Jackson County Detention Center on $1 million bond and is expected to be extradited to Douglas County, Kansas.
How the cases were linked: Chief Lockhart credited the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, a genetics testing laboratory, Lawrence detectives Meghan Bardwell and Amy Price, and retired Detective Mike McAtee for their roles in the investigation. McAtee originally collected the cigarette butt at the 2000 crime scene, and Lockhart said without that evidence investigators could not have connected the two cases.
Lawrence Kansas Police Department/FacebookLawrence Kansas Police Department Press Conference
The 2000 incident occurred when three children were riding bikes in Naismith Park and a man offered them money to help look for something; one child later reported being sexually assaulted by a man who had been smoking. Detectives located a still‑smoldering cigarette butt at the scene. In May 2003, two boys riding in the same park were approached in a similar manner, and one boy was allegedly assaulted. Investigators collected sexual‑assault evidence in the 2003 case.
In 2016, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation used a DNA index system to determine the cigarette butt linked the 2000 and 2003 cases. Years later, investigators applied genetic genealogy techniques that led them to the suspect’s mother and ultimately to Zimbrick himself.
Lockhart noted there are three other cases with similar suspect descriptions and methods of operation, but officials currently lack physical evidence tying those cases to Zimbrick. “I hope this arrest provides some measure of comfort to the survivors,” Lockhart said, adding investigators believe additional related cases may still exist and hope the breakthrough will help identify them.
“It's been 9,257 days since David James Zimbrick sexually assaulted a seven‑year‑old girl in Naismith Park,” Lockhart said. “He is in a place where he will not ever be able to hurt another child.”
Next steps: Zimbrick remains in custody pending extradition. Authorities continue to review other unsolved reports and urge anyone with information about similar incidents to contact law enforcement.
Help us improve.
