CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Police say they arrested a man for his involvement in two separate sexual assault cold cases.
Zellie Edwards is accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old victim inside a vacant apartment on Nations Ford Road in 1988.
He is also accused of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old in a wooded area near West Boulevard in 1994.
In 2017, investigators say evidence from both cases were included for testing as part of a federal grant CMPD received. DNA evidence confirmed Edwards as the suspect in both cases.
Edwards has been charged with 2 counts of 2nd degree rape and 1 count of 2nd degree kidnapping.
The CMPD Sexual Assault Cold Case Unit has reviewed 2,886 cases since it began in 2006. Of those cases, 260 have been cleared, 80 of which were cleared by arrest, 177 were exceptionally cleared and 3 have been unfounded.
