‘Crimes committed by a monster’: Man sentenced to life in sexual assault cold case
This episode recounts the successful resolution of a 1987 cold case involving the brutal sexual assault of two young girls in Exeter, Rhode Island. After nearly four decades of uncertainty, investigators utilized forensic genetic genealogy to identify Frank Thies as the assailant through a match with a distant relative’s DNA. The narrative details how Thies, who was a member of the military at the time of the attack, was eventually apprehended in Indiana following a covert DNA collection operation. During his 2025 trial, emotional testimony from the survivors highlighted the lifelong trauma…
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