How DNA swab snared rapist David Hill 40 years after shocking sex attack in Sheffield city centre
A rapist was finally caught 40 years after he struck in Sheffield when a DNA swab taken when he was arrested for another offence linked him to the sex crime.
“Dragnet for rape brute” read The Star’s front page on September 7, 1985.
It came after earlier that same morning a young woman was raped at knifepoint by a complete stranger in a car park underneath Barker’s Pool.
What no one knew at the time was that the case would drag on for decades, as police chased numerous leads before finally catching David Hill in the 2020s.
“South Yorkshire Police is committed to reviewing and detecting cases from whenever,” David Stopford, head of the major incident review team told The Star.
“You can never be sure that you’ve got away with it because we will be reviewing those cases.”
From day one, descriptions of the offender were shared with the press, making the front page which read: “The wanted man is described as between 32 and 34, over 5ft. 4in, with mousey/dark brown wavey hair cut in a distinctive fashion.
“He had blue/grey eyes, spoke with a local accent and while smart in appearance he appeared not to have shaved.
“He was wearing a grey long sleeved shirt and grey trouser but no tie or belt.”
During a trial at Sheffield Crown Court, the Crown Prosecution Service presented images showing Hill at the time and argued that they matched the description given all those years ago.
And while this evidence helped the case, it was truly forensics that finally brought Hill, from Clifton in Rotherham, to justice.
In 2021, a DNA review of evidence kept in storage found a match to Hill’s, who had been swabbed upon his arrest for a public order offence.
“In this (rape) case this was pre-DNA, so they didn’t even have that opportunity then,” David added.
“So we can take samples that were taken for things like blood grouping and fibres and those same samples now can be reviewed with the view to getting DNA from them.
“That’s quite a complicated process so we work with scientists and we do the investigative side and they do the scientific side.
“We pull it together and try and get an identification and from that point the suspect is then arrested, interviewed and we process it from there.”
Tragically, Hill’s victim died in the 90s and never lived to see her abuser face justice.
It made the case even more difficult for officers too, who had to argue that a written victim statement provided to the police decades ago could justify a trial.
Beyond this, investigating officer Rachel Morton tracked down and approached the victim’s friends and family, some of whom acted as witnesses in the trial.
Police officers from the time also came back and gave statements to the court about their approach to the investigation 40 years ago.
Rachel sat with the victim’s loved ones in the public gallery throughout proceedings and celebrated in the halls of the court when the guilty verdict was delivered.
“As we understand it, this has never been done before with a deceased rape victim - so that was something new to all of us really,” Rachel added.
“It’s a massive relief, [friends and family] just feel like she has been heard.
“They’re sad, they’re very sad, but her best friend especially has been really supportive throughout this. She also gave evidence and without her this case would have probably fallen through.
“She described her best friend really well in court and put across what a nice person she was and how this had affected her.
“So I think they’re all pleased at what’s happened, as much as it has upset them bringing this up again 40 years later.”
There’s clearly a sense of pride within the force, as they discuss the relief of finally hearing the jury foreperson read out the guilty verdict after spending so many years building a compelling case for a crime that at one point would have been considered unsolvable.
But, at the end of the day, it’s the victim that they’re most concerned with.
“It is a proud moment, but I think it is a bittersweet time because obviously the victim wasn’t here to see it,” David added.
“And that’s tragic in itself, so it is bittersweet.
“The family were absolutely thrilled that we’d taken this investigation and that we’ve got the result we have, so that’s very rewarding.”
Hill is due be sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court tomorrow (March 20).
Upon his conviction, Judge Peter Hampton said to Hill: “You have been convicted of a very serious sexual offence dating back 40 years.
“You have known about what you did throughout the passage of that time, from your 30s to your 70s.
“On March 20 I will sentence you. You will receive a sentence measured in years, you will be remanded in custody until that date.”