From The Banner · Dylan Segelbaum · · 1m 30s
A doctor's slides solved two 1980s rapes
Two Cockeysville attacks, four years apart to the day, went unsolved for decades until preserved evidence named a suspect.
In brief
Two Cockeysville attacks, four years apart to the day, went unsolved for decades until preserved evidence named a suspect. Biological evidence that someone had the foresight to preserve can still close a case forty years later. Originally reported by The Banner.
Two attacks, four years apart
A man broke into first-floor apartments in Cockeysville, threatened a woman and raped her. Both attacks happened on Sept. 13, four years apart, half a mile from each other.
Decades with no suspect
Both cases sat unsolved until 2023, when Baltimore County Police finally identified a suspect. DNA testing confirmed he was the assailant.
Guilty, 40 years later
James Shipe Sr., 73, of Parkville was convicted Monday in Baltimore County Circuit Court of rape, sex offenses and burglary. The verdict landed one day after the anniversary of the attacks.
“Time marches on. Times catches up to us all eventually.”
The slides that held the answer
Both women went to Greater Baltimore Medical Center, where Dr. Rudiger Breitenecker preserved biological material on slides in more than 2,000 cases between 1977 and 1997.
“Justice delayed is not justice denied.”
Five cases, three lost
Shipe was originally charged in five rapes between 1978 and 1986. Two of the women have since died, and prosecutors are still weighing whether to pursue the remaining case.
The defense pushed back
Attorney Joe Pappafotis conceded a crime happened but said his client was not the attacker, calling the state's evidence "more say so than evidence" since some witnesses did not run the testing themselves.
“This is a case of whether or not the state has met their burden.”
What to remember
Biological evidence that someone had the foresight to preserve can still close a case forty years later.
