A man facing sexual assault and battery charges in Monroe County died in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, last summer. Apparently, DNA technology helped detectives identify William Anechiarico, also known as Ralph, as the suspect in a 1987 rape in the Florida Keys.
Anechiarico, 64, was charged with attacking a woman, who was 36 at the time, while armed with a knife in a trailer park on Grassy Key, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.
The woman allegedly suffered cuts to her right hand, while Anechiarico was accused of using a cord to tie her hands and arms and covering her head with a pillow.
It is then that more than three decades later, the victim received a call with an update on the case from detectives. He no longer lives on Grassy Key, agents said.
Sheriff Rick Ramsay noted “I am extremely grateful that our felony unit detectives and our state and federal law enforcement partners have been able to bring the victim to closure in this terrible case.”
Monroe’s agents worked with the United States Marshals Service and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to close the case.
Meanwhile, records show that Anechiarico left Monroe County after becoming a registered sex offender after a sexual assault in 1988. Local 10 Post.