After new DNA analysis, Arlington police make an arrest in 2003 sexual assault case
He wore socks on his hands when he raped a woman in Arlington in September 2003, but the suspect also kissed her, and the resulting DNA connects him to the crime, police said last week as they announced his arrest.
The victim told a detective she woke about 3 a.m. in her house in the 2300 block of Weyborn Drive. The woman was not tired and watched television. She heard a noise but did not get up to see what it was. She said she may have dozed.
When she looked up, the woman said that she saw a man standing over her, Arlington police Detective Becky Szatkowski wrote in a affidavit supporting Jeffrey Wheat’s arrest on March 8 on suspicion of burglary. Wheat is now 49.
The assailant climbed on the bed and placed his hand, which had a sock on it, over the victim’s mouth.
The woman said that the man was nude except for a white shirt over his face and socks on his hands and feet.
The victim said she asked the assailant who he was. “Roscoe,” the man replied.
She said she started calling for Jesus and the man became angry and yelled at her to shut up. The victim said the assailant never threatened her, and she did not see any weapons. At one point he put a pillow over her face, and she pushed him away.
The department submitted for analysis a DNA sample from the victim’s breast, where she said the man had kissed her.
Due to the quality of the DNA and limitations in technology at the time, no suspect connections were made from the breast swab or socks found in front of the house, police said.
Szatkowski investigated people of interest. The case was suspended due to a lack of further leads.
Evidence from the case was later resubmitted to a crime lab for further analysis. Investigators received information that the DNA matched cases of other sexual assaults in North Texas.
Plano police contacted Szatkowski in December and provided information about Wheat.
In January, Wheat was found in Crawford County, Arkansas, and arrested. A search warrant was issued to obtain a sample of Wheat’s DNA for direct comparison to the other cases.
In February, Arlington police received a partial DNA report connecting Wheat to the 2003 Arlington case. He is being held at the Collin County Jail.
This story was originally published March 10, 2021 at 5:30 AM.
