Cold case DNA match finds 1985 knifepoint rapist

A man has been found guilty of raping a woman at knifepoint in an underground car park more than 40 years ago.

The woman had been on a night out in Sheffield on 7 September 1985 when she was attacked while walking back to her car.

David Hill, now 75, from Clifton in Rotherham, was traced by South Yorkshire Police cold case officers who found his DNA matched that collected at the scene.

Hill denied rape but was found guilty after a week-long trial at Sheffield Crown Court on Thursday. He was remanded in custody and is due to be sentenced at the same court on 20 March.

Police said the victim died 12 years after her attack, before she could see her attacker brought to justice.

The force said despite an investigation at the time, which included a detailed statement from the victim, as well as forensic samples from the victim's clothing, the offender was not traced.

The case was revisited in 2018 by its Major Incident Review Team (MIRT), which looks at South Yorkshire's most serious unsolved crimes, as well as more recent incidents such as murders.

Police said as part of this review, evidence gathered during the original investigation was re-tested and due to the advance of forensic techniques the DNA of the offender was identified.

However, no matches were found on the national database.

Then in 2021, during one of the regular reviews of the case, the DNA was tested again and matched to Hill, who was by then on the database after he was arrested for a separate public order offence.

Hill was arrested on suspicion of rape, but he denied the offence, saying he did not remember the victim and they must have had consensual sex.

Head of the MIRT Dave Stopford said: "Due to the victim having sadly died, we, alongside the Crown Prosecution Service, applied to the court to have her original police statement read as 'hearsay' evidence, which is when evidence is provided in a manner other than as first hand, direct testimony.

"This resulted in us carrying out a number of inquiries to prove that the victim's statement could be trusted.

"I would like to thank the victim's close friend and family member, who provided evidence of her character meaning the court agreed to hear her evidence."

He added: "I want to commend the victim in this case. It is tragic that she is no longer here to witness Hill facing justice, but I hope it brings her loved ones some comfort to know that we never gave up on pursuing him.

"The victim bravely assisted the police in the initial investigation and died very young, and our thoughts remain with her loved ones."

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