Mason Hall, 19, of West Norriton is charged with involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and related charges. Prosecutors say in August 2017, when Hall was 17, he snuck up on a woman from behind as she was on her morning walk, pointed a gun at her temple, and forced her to walk off the trail.
Steele said the DNA didn’t result in a hit on any law enforcement databases, but they kept searching other DNA databases, both publicly and privately available.
Genetic testing of the DNA helped produce a sketch, according to Steele, and it showed the suspect had half European and half African ancestry and was about 25 years old.
“As a result of this extensive and detailed research, detectives and our support staff identified numerous possible distant relatives of the perpetrator,” he continued. Investigators were able to identify distant relatives before narrowing it down to Hall.
When they identified Hall as a suspect, Steele said they learned he was arrested about a month after the assault in the park for smashing a headlight with a hammer. During the incident, Hall cut his hand. The tool was still in evidence, so Steele said they were able to make a DNA match from the blood on the hammer.
Hall was arrested Friday and is being held on $1 million bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled later this month.
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