Toddler taken from home, sexually assaulted in 1986, AZ cops say. Now suspect charged
A suspect has been charged nearly four decades after Arizona police say a toddler was kidnapped from their home and sexually assaulted.
Using genetic genealogy, investigators identified a 61-year-old Texas man, David Roy Mundt, as a suspect in the 1986 case, the Phoenix Police Department said in Nov. 1 news release.
Mundt has been arrested on charges of kidnapping and sexual assault, police said. His attorney information was not immediately available.
Case grows cold
The toddler’s parents woke on July 6, 1986, to find their home had been broken into overnight, police said.
“Their child was missing from their bedroom,” police said.
A short time later, the toddler was found and returned home after neighbors called authorities.
Police said officers learned that before the child was found, the toddler “had been kidnapped and assaulted by an unknown person.”
Despite investigation, police said the case went cold.
A similar case
Then, in 1992, there was a similar kidnapping and assault involving a child in Henderson, Texas, police said.
Physical evidence was entered into the Combined DNA Index System; however, there were no matches for the unknown person, police said.
Once the Phoenix case was assigned to detectives from the department’s cold case sex crimes unit, they too entered evidence into the CODIS, police said.
It was a match to the DNA profile of the suspect in the Texas case, according to police.
“But again—this DNA did not match a known person,” police said.
Genetic genealogy to ID
Earlier this year, cold case detectives “again pushed this case forward, this time using investigative genetic genealogy,” police said.
Genetic genealogy uses DNA testing coupled with “traditional genealogical methods” to create “family history profiles,” according to the Library of Congress. With genealogical DNA testing, researchers can determine if and how people are biologically related.
The testing gave detectives a “strong lead,” which they investigated further, police said.
Detectives ultimately identified Mundt as a suspect, according to police.
In August, authorities found and arrested Mundt in relation to the 1992 Texas case, police said.
After Phoenix detectives “established probable cause” in the 1986 case, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office issued a warrant for Mundt’s arrest, which included charges of kidnapping and sexual assault, police said.
Mundt is being held on charges stemming from both the 1986 Phoenix case and 1992 Texas case, according to police.
He will be extradited to Phoenix to stand trial, according to police.
This story was originally published November 4, 2024 at 2:23 PM with the headline "Toddler taken from home, sexually assaulted in 1986, AZ cops say. Now suspect charged."
