A man already serving a life sentence for the death of a woman in Alabama is now suspected of sexually assaulting and killing a woman in a Boston hotel room more than 40 years ago, according to Massachusetts police. Bloomberg reports.
According to a prepared statement by Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins, Steven Fike has been charged with first-degree murder and assault in connection with the March 1980 death of Wendy Dansereau.
Rollins claimed Ms Dansereau’s family had to wait over 40 years to find out what happened to her after she was murdered when she was 19.
According to authorities, Dansereau’s daughter was four months old at the time of her mother’s death.
Steven Fike was arrested for the murder and assault of Wendy Dansereau.
Wendy Dansereau, then 19, was physically abused by killer Steven Fike before being strangled.
According to prosecutors, Fike was proven Wendy’s killer thanks to a DNA sample collected in the early stages of the investigation, entered into an FBI database and matched to his genetic profile.
The 62-year-old criminal is already serving a life sentence with the chance of parole for the murder of Patricia Ann Culp and another assault.
His chances of getting a pardon after the new case broke are slim to non-existent. Instead, there has been a flurry of tweets and messages on social media calling for justice for the unfortunate teenage mother.
How did Wendy Dansereau do?
Wendy Dansereau’s body was discovered in Boston’s South End by a Hotel Diplomat employee. According to authorities, she was allegedly sexually assaulted and choked to death.
A DNA sample collected during the first phase of the investigation was recently entered into an FBI database and matched to Fike’s genetic profile, according to prosecutors.
According to police sources, Fike was in New England the day before Dansereau’s body was found.
The hundreds of victims whose deaths remain unknown, as well as the families who still hope and pray for answers and accountability, have not been forgotten, Rollins said.
No matter how much time has passed, “my team and I will never forget your loved one or how important they were,” he said.
For her family and her daughter, the 40-year search for justice seems to be over.
What happened to Steven Fike? arrest and indictment
In Alabama, the killer is currently serving a life sentence for the murder of Patricia Ann Culp, according to court records. On February 2, 1982, the body was found in a partially submerged culvert in Tuscaloosa County.
She died as a result of a serious head injury that crushed her skull, according to a decision by the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals.
Fike met the woman while she was employed as a dancer at a Birmingham strip club and the two engaged in sexual activity there. He was arrested in Atlanta a few days after the murder and brought to trial in 1982. According to a cousin who testified, Steven had told about the murder.
According to NBC Boston, he was charged with another crime while completing his sentence in this case.
Fike is currently incarcerated at Elmore Correctional Facility in Alabama for a 1982 sexual assault and murder. Suffolk District Attorneys report that he has been sentenced to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole.
