After over three decades, a breakthrough in a cold case brings closure to a sexual assault investigation in Charlotte. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s (CMPD) Cold Case Unit has named Tony G. Leslie, a North Carolina convicted felon, as the offender in a case dating back to Christmas Day of 1993; officers responded to a reported burglary and sexual assault but with no immediate leads at the time, the trail went cold.
In a persistent effort to seek justice, the CMPD Cold Case Unit revisited the case in 2022, sending evidence for analysis to BODE Technology. The investigation was reinvigorated when a partial male DNA sample was extracted and ran through the State Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), it was here that a match identified Leslie, already imprisoned for multiple first-degree burglary convictions from 2019, as the suspect.
The collaborative work that led to this outcome includes the CMPD Crime Laboratory, grant funds from the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI), BODE Technology, and the Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office; during an interview at Scotland County Correctional Institution, Leslie was indicted on charges of first-degree rape and burglary by the Cold Case Prosecutor. Leslie has since pleaded guilty to first-degree burglary on March 17, and received an additional 14 years in prison, to run consecutively with his current sentence.
"The victim has been notified of these developments," as stated in a press release from the CMPD, reflecting the diligence and dedication of all parties involved in achieving resolution for these past wrongs, putting to rest a criminal chapter that remained unresolved too long.
