Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation   A. DeWade Langley   Director   Jessica Brown Public Information Director

 12/18/09                 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE           

OSBI Files John Doe Warrant on Christmas Rape Case

The OSBI has filed a John Doe Warrant on a sexual assault case that occurred Christmas Day 1997 in Guthrie.

About 7:30 Christmas morning 85-year-old Moena House walked outside the front door of her home at 1208 E. Springer  and picked up her newspaper.  She reentered her house and walked toward her kitchen to make her morning coffee.  Out of the corner of her eye she noticed a man standing just inside her front door.  Threatening to beat her to death with a pipe, he robbed her of $80 cash.  Before leaving, he sexually assaulted her.

The statute of limitations expires this Christmas, which is why OSBI has filed a John Doe warrant.   OSBI criminalists have entered a DNA profile into the CODIS database (Combined DNA Index System).  

The victim was able to give officers a description of the suspect. He is described as a black male with a dark complexion, between 25 and 35 years old, about 6 feet tall, weighing approximately 175 pounds.  He was wearing new white and black tennis shoes, a plaid shirt, faded blue or black jeans, and a white stocking cap.  He held a white cloth over his face during the attack.

Ms. House died last year.  The OSBI hopes the description of the suspect may jog someone’s memory of the event.  If anyone has any information about the case, please call the OSBI hotline at 1-800-522-8017.