The suspect in the 2003 kidnapping and rape of a McCleary teenager was found guilty of first-degree rape by a jury Friday, the Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office announced.
Paul Bieker was arrested in June 2021 after DNA samples belonging to him matched those of the suspect in the 2003 case.
In March 2003, the sheriff’s office investigated the kidnapping and rape that started on Church Road in McCleary.
According to the sheriff’s office, a 17-year-old girl was abducted as she was heading home in her car.
Bieker bound the girl and loaded her into her own car. Bieker then took the girl to an undisclosed location and raped her.
An exhaustive investigation was conducted but investigators were not able to identify a suspect.
The suspect’s DNA was entered into the nationwide criminal database and was not linked to a known person.
Scroll down to continue reading
More news from KIRO 7
- Separate fatal incidents on I-5 could delay evening Seattle commute
- Concerns over housing purchased for Seattle homeless
- Son in custody after murder of his father in Bothell
- Do you have an investigative story tip? Send us an email at investigate@kiro7.com
In 2010, the Grays Harbor Prosecuting Attorney’s Office obtained a rape warrant for the DNA profile of the suspect.
In December 2020, Grays Harbor Sheriff’s Office Chief Darrin Wallace obtained grant money to submit the DNA evidence to a private lab for genealogy testing. The testing revealed a shortlist of subjects that were linked to the DNA profile.
Investigators learned that Bieker lived in McCleary in 2003, not far from where the girl lived.
They were also able to identify other circumstantial evidence linking Bieker to the crime.
Chief Wallace and Det. Sgt. Logan surveilled Bieker and took his DNA from an item he had discarded.
The item was submitted to the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab for comparison and it turned out to be a match of the suspect in the 2003 rape case.
Bieker was arrested in McCleary on June 15, 2021.
The statute of limitations for the kidnapping had already expired, but Bieker was found guilty of first-degree rape by a jury on Friday.
©2022 Cox Media Group
