Conviction upheld in 1998 rape

EVERETT — The state Court of Appeals recently upheld the conviction of an Everett man accused of raping a school teacher in 1998.

The court concluded that a person can be charged with rape outside the statute of limitations if the suspect isn’t conclusively identified until later.

Michael McConnell is serving 13 years for the violent attack against a teacher at Discovery Elementary School. The woman was sexually assaulted at gunpoint in her classroom as she prepared for summer school.

The case was cold for more than a dozen years, but in 2011 McConnell was identified as the rapist when a sample of his DNA matched genetic evidence collected during the investigation. He was charged with first-degree rape.

McConnell, 33, moved to have the case thrown out, arguing that time had run out for prosecutors to charge him.

Generally, prosecutors have 10 years from when a rape is committed to file a charge. However, there is some leeway in cases where the suspect hasn’t been identified. Prosecutors argued that the law allows them to file charges a year from when a suspect is “conclusively identified” through DNA testing.

McConnell’s lawyers contended that the case could have been charged much earlier using the unique DNA profile first identified in 1998. Prosecutors didn’t have the man’s name, but they could have charged it anyway, simply identifying the suspect using a genetic profile, as they have done in other cases, the defense argued.

Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Bruce Weiss refused to throw out the charge. McConnell opted for a bench trial and in 2012 Weiss found McConnell guilty of first-degree rape.

McConnell filed an appeal. On Monday, the state Court of Appeals upheld the rape conviction. The court concluded that McConnell’s identity wasn’t established until 2011 when tests matched his DNA with that collected from the crime scene.

“We conclude that under the plain language of the statute, the identity of a suspect is not ‘conclusively established’ until DNA testing matches the DNA profile of an unknown suspect to the DNA profile of a known suspect,” the court wrote.

Detectives caught up with McConnell as part of an investigation into two unrelated homicides.

In 2010, Snohomish County sheriff’s cold case detective Jim Scharf asked that the genetic material collected during the rape investigation be retested using current technology. He made the request as part of his probe into the 1995 killing of Patti Berry, and the presumed slaying of Tracey Brazzel earlier that same year.

The suspect in those deaths, Danny Giles, was known to ride a bicycle. Bicycle tire tracks discovered in 1998 suggested that the rapist had pedaled away from the school.

Scientists concluded that the male genetic evidence collected at the rape scene didn’t match Giles. Instead, it matched McConnell’s profile in the state’s DNA database. His genetic profile was entered after a burglary conviction in 2000.

McConnell had been living within a mile of the school at the time this rape occurred. He also admitted using a bicycle as a method of transportation at that time. He has denied raping the teacher.

Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Everett mall renderings from Brixton Capital. (Photo provided by the City of Everett)
Topgolf at the Everett Mall? Mayor’s hint still unconfirmed

After Cassie Franklin’s annual address, rumors circled about what “top” entertainment tenant could be landing at Everett Mall.

Everett
Everett man sentenced to 3 years of probation for mutilating animals

In 2022, neighbors reported Blayne Perez, 35, was shooting and torturing wildlife in north Everett.

Dorothy Crossman rides up on her bike to turn in her ballot  on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett leaders plan to ask voters for property tax increase

City officials will spend weeks hammering out details of a ballot measure, as Everett faces a $12.6 million deficit.

Starbucks employee Zach Gabelein outside of the Mill Creek location where he works on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024 in Mill Creek, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mill Creek Starbucks votes 21-1 to form union

“We obviously are kind of on the high of that win,” store bargaining delegate Zach Gabelein said.

Lynnwood police respond to a collision on highway 99 at 176 street SW. (Photo provided by Lynnwood Police)
Police: Teen in stolen car flees cops, causes crash in Lynnwood

The crash blocked traffic for over an hour at 176th Street SW. The boy, 16, was arrested on felony warrants.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett to welcome new CEO

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.