ARLINGTON, Va. — A 63-year-old man from Virginia’s Northern Neck has been charged with a series of rapes and assaults that occurred nearly 30 years ago near a northern Virginia Metrorail station.
Arlington County Police announced charges Wednesday against Michael Thomson of Montross including rape and forcible sodomy.
DNA evidence resubmitted for analysis by a cold case unit yielded a hit that led officers to Thomson.
He was arrested Tuesday at his home and is being held without bond.
Police believe Thomson was responsible for four different assaults at gunpoint throughout 1991 of women who were walking home from the East Falls Church Metro station:
"Three cases were linked by DNA evidence with a fourth case being investigated as part of the series due to similarities with the other cases," an email from Arlington Police read.
Police provided the following descriptions of the crimes:
At approximately 6:00 p.m. on January 17, 1991, the female victim was walking home from the East Falls Church Metro in the 4800 block of Little Falls Road when an unknown male suspect approached her, brandished a firearm and forced her into a grassy area between two homes. The suspect raped the victim before fleeing the scene on foot.
At approximately 7:40 p.m. on February 13, 1991, the female victim was walking from the East Falls Church Metro to her parked vehicle in the 2300 block of N. Tuckahoe Street when she observed the unknown male suspect walking towards her. The suspect brandished a firearm, forced the victim to the side of a residence where he raped her before fleeing the scene on foot.
At approximately 10:00 p.m. on March 6, 1991, the female victim was walking home from the East Falls Church Metro in the 6300 block of Lee Highway when she was approached by an unknown male who alleged to have a firearm. The suspect forced the victim to the back of a nearby residence and directed her to remove her clothing. The suspect placed the firearm to her head and told her to be quiet. The suspect then asked the victim if she wanted him to leave and when she said yes, he fled the scene on foot.
At approximately 7:08 p.m. on December 2, 1991, the female victim was walking from the East Falls Church Metro to her parked vehicle in the 6100 block of N. 22nd Street when she was approached by an unknown male suspect brandishing a firearm. When the victim screamed, the suspect ran away and fled from the scene in a vehicle. As the suspect was fleeing, he dropped the baseball hat he was wearing. DNA from the baseball hat was later linked to DNA recovered in the January 17 and February 13 incidents.
Thomson’s lawyer did not immediately return an email seeking comment.
