A tragic cold case file that was rekindled by DNA found at a break-and-enter in Coquitlam has ended in the death of the man accused.
James Gray, 48, died while in custody at a pre-trial centre where he had been since arrested April 29, 2017. His DNA had been linked to the beating and sexual assault of an 80-year-old New Westminster woman more than 20 years ago.
Dorothy Darnel was asleep in her bed in the early morning hours of Oct. 4, 1996, when a man broke into her apartment at 310 Eighth St. and attacked her. The injuries he inflicted to her head and face were so severe they rendered her unconscious, according to police.
Darnel survived the attack, but she never returned to her Eighth Street apartment. She would go on to speak at several public safety forums about her experience, according to police.
Darnel passed away in December 2015. She was 99 years old.
The investigation in 1996 was led by eight full-time officers, and despite releasing a sketch of the suspect, who had been spotted fleeing Darnel’s apartment building by responding officers, he was never identified. There was also a $12,000 reward for information leading to an arrest posted by the New Westminster Police Board and an anonymous donor.
Last spring Coquitlam RCMP confirmed that a DNA sample collected during a break-and-enter in 2016 matched the sample taken at the scene of a vicious attack and sexual assault in October 1996, resulting in the arrest and charges.
At the time, New Westminster Police Department announced it had arrested the man it believed had attacked Darnel.
Last week, the police department was notified that Gray was dead. He’d died in custody.
“It is unfortunate that Mr. Gray will not face these matters in a court of law,” said spokesperson police Sgt. Jeff Scott. “However we are satisfied with the hard work of many investigators, which advanced this file to a stage where we were able to arrest and charge Mr. Gray for the attack on Ms. Darnell back in 1996.”
Gray’s death is being investigated by the B.C. Coroners Service, but the cause is not considered suspicious, according to Scott.
