DNA Clears Rape Suspect in Washington

OLYMPIA, WA - Police thought they had their man, until DNA tests proved them wrong. On Tuesday, February 21, 2007, a twenty-three year old rape suspect was cleared following a DNA analysis. It has been reported evidence taken from the 11-year-old victim did not match that of the suspect. The findings forced the prosecuting attorney to drop all charges.

Thurston County Deputy Prosecutor, John Skinder, gave the following statement on Tuesday, "What we have found out today is that there was male DNA found on the victim's body in numerous locations, and that DNA belonged to a specific person. And that person was not David Lukas Lynch." Skinder says they will run the DNA profile through the national database of felons. Skinder said the family of the victim was notified of the results and that Lynch had been cleared. He says the family is very concerned but would not have wanted an innocent person to be behind bars. They had been hopeful that Lynch was the man responsible for hurting the girl.

The suspect, David Lukas Lynch, was arrested on February 6^th. Lynch is reported to just being a few blocks from the home of the girl who was raped when he was arrested. The girl was raped in her home at knifepoint the day prior to Lynch's arrest. Lynch was homeless and was reported as living in a sophisticated underground bunker at in a park near the victim's home.

Police claim Lynch had made several incriminating statements when they approached him on the day he was arrested. Police have reported that Lynch told them he had hurt somebody. Following Lynch's arrest, police searched the bunker and found over twenty journals. The journals gave the police probable cause to keep Lynch in custody because of a statement Lynch had written in the journals. In several journals, Lynch had written about his want to quit his "child hunting" habit.

On February 8^th, Lynch appeared in Superior Court and was charged with three counts of first-degree child rape with a deadly weapon, a single count of both burglary and second-degree child rape. During his appearance, Lynch was restrained wearing a straitjacket. His appearance had been postponed because Lynch was behaving too erratically to be transported to the courtroom.

Lynch was transported to Western State Hospital for a mental evaluation. There is an uncertainty of what will happen to Lynch because of his mental state. He remains in Western State Hospital on a civil commitment and he is thought to be psychologically unstable.

Police were very surprised to find out that Lynch was not their suspect and have resumed their search for the actual rapist. Olympia police say they have a two people of interest. Police have described the rapist as being 18 to 20 years old with a light-brown skin tone. The rapist was described as being slender and about five foot seven inches tall. He is reported as having dark hair with a short haircut and pointed goatee and a mustache. The suspect is reported as wearing glasses.

Sources: KCPQ TV, King 5 News, and The News Tribune