An Albuquerque man accused in a cold case rape from 1997 will stay behind bars. Investigators say 63-year-old Edward Duran‘s DNA linked him to a sexual assault 24-years-ago.
Prosecutors say the victim left a door open for her cat. Duran is then accused of breaking in, holding a knife to her throat, and raping her. The rape kit was part of a backlog, not tested until 2020.
In court on Tuesday, Jan. 4, prosecutors argued the last time Duran was let out while awaiting trial, he was accused of committing another sexual attack. They also say the victim still fears for her life.
“She was extremely fearful and understandably so of the defendant. She stated to me, ‘he had a knife next to my jugular, he came so close to killing me,’” said Bernalillo County Deputy District Attorney Lelia Hood.
The defense argues a lack of recent allegations proves he doesn’t pose a risk now. The state disagrees.
“There’s no indication that in the last nearly quarter of a century that Mr. Duran has done anything that would make him a risk to the public at large,” said defense attorney Heather Leblanc.
“This defendant is unpredictable, sadistic, and terrifying and cannot be trusted to abide by any conditions of release. Just because he’s been hiding his identity all of these years doesn’t make him any less dangerous than he was in 1997 when he committed this rape,” said Hood.
District Court Judge Lucy Solimon sided with the state, agreeing to hold him behind bars until trial. Duran is suspected of being involved in seven other cases.