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29-Mar-2018
College town rapists convicted by handgun DNA mixtures
Indianapolis, IN
At 4 am on November 9, 2014, two Indianapolis men invaded the Bloomington apartment of three University of Indiana students. The men robbed two of the women, and repeatedly raped them at gunpoint. Hidden in a closet, a third roommate called 911. The police arrived and exchanged gunfire with the fleeing attackers.
Vaylan Glazebrook and Michael Deweese, both 19, were arrested and charged with the crimes. Deweese pleaded guilty to rape, robbery, and attempted murder in 2016; he was sentenced to 109 years in prison. Glazebrook chose to go to trial.
The crime laboratory analyzed DNA left on two handguns. The lab data showed complex mixtures with up to five contributors, which the analysts could not interpret. The prosecution contacted Cybergenetics.
The rapists and their victims’ DNA were mixed together on the guns. TrueAllele® computing unmixed the DNA data, and calculated match statistics.
TrueAllele connected Glazebrook to the handguns with DNA match statistics in the tens of millions. The computer connected both victims to the weapons with numbers ranging from millions to quintillions. Science showed Glazebrook was there – at the crime scene, with his rape victims, and on the guns.
On the morning of February 16, 2018, Dr. Mark Perlin of Cybergenetics testified at a Daubert hearing, establishing the computer’s reliability. In the afternoon, Dr. Perlin presented the TrueAllele evidence to a Bloomington jury.
That evening, the jury convicted Glazebrook of attempted murder, four counts of rape, two counts of criminal confinement, burglary, robbery, and resisting law enforcement.
On March 29, Glazebrook was sentenced to 125 years in prison. “Mr. Glazebrook participated in every woman’s greatest nightmare,” said Judge Marc Kellams. “This was unbelievable.”
Links
- Three Teens Arrested for Burglary, Sexual Assault in Bloomington WIBC
- Emotions high as Bloomington sex assault suspects make court appearance WTHR
- Glazebrook convicted of all charges, faces life in prison Indiana Daily Student
- DNA Mixtures of Victim, Attacker on Guns Land Indiana Man 14 Felony Convictions Forensic Magazine
- Glazebrook sentenced to 125 and a half years for 2014 crimes Indiana Daily Student