Man, 75, found guilty of 1985 Sheffield rape after DNA breakthrough in cold case

On Saturday 7, 1985, just past midnight, a young woman was walking back to her car after a night out in Sheffield.

However, on the way she was held at knifepoint and raped in an underground car park in the city.

Police launched an investigation and took a detailed statement from the victim and forensic samples from her clothing.

Despite this, the offender was never caught and the victim died 12 years after the attack without seeing her attacker brought to justice.

In 2018 police began reviewing the case which included retesting evidence - but no matches were found in the DNA database.

Then, during a second review, in 2021 the DNA was retested and matched with David Hill.

The, now75-year-old's DNA has been added to the national database after he was arrested for a public order offence.

Hill was then arrested on suspicion of rape - but denied the offence as he had “no memory of the victim” and claimed he “must have had consensual sex with her”.

Head of the Major Incident Review Team, Dave Stopford said: "Due to the victim having sadly died, we, alongside the Crown Prosecution Service, applied to the court to have her original police statement read as ‘hearsay’ evidence, which is when evidence is provided in a manner other than as firsthand, direct testimony.

"This resulted in us carrying out a number of enquiries to prove that the victim's statement could be trusted. I would like to thank the victim's close friend and family member, who provided evidence of her character, meaning the court agreed to hear her evidence."

Despite the evidence linking Hill to the rape, he pleaded not guilty.

However, following a week-long trial, a jury found Hill, from Rotherham, guilty of rape on Thursday (Feb 12).

He has been remanded into custody and will appear before Sheffield Crown Court on March 20, for sentencing.

Mr Stopford added: "I want to commend the victim in this case. It is tragic that she is no longer here to witness Hill facing justice, but I hope it brings her loved ones some comfort to know that we never gave up on pursuing him.

“The victim bravely assisted the police in the initial investigation and died very young, and our thoughts remain with her loved ones.

“I would like to thank the witnesses who helped secure this conviction. The lead investigator at the time, ex-Detective Chief Superintendent Robert Varey, and ex PC Sue Botley, who assisted in the examination of the victim, both provided crucial evidence during the trial.

"I would also like to thank the scientists involved, whose work is invaluable in these historic cases, and without them this perpetrator may never have been brought to justice for this crime.

"This has been a very lengthy and complex investigation. A number of investigating officers on my team have been involved over the years, culminating in Investigating Officer Rachel Morton working many hours to submit the case to the CPS and the courts.”