Texas authorities have solved a violent sexual assault case from 1997 with the arrest of a suspect identified through advanced DNA testing, the Texas Department of Public Safety announced.
James Lee Woodard, now 61, was taken into custody on April 2 in Big Spring and charged with aggravated sexual assault in the attack on a 49-year-old woman at the Midland Park Mall parking lot.
On September 1, 1997, the woman was grabbed by an unidentified man who threatened her with a box cutter, forced her into a light-colored van, and assaulted her as another suspect drove around the area before releasing her.
Investigators reviewed tips, interviewed witnesses, and entered DNA evidence into the Combined DNA Index System over the years, but no arrest was made. In 2001, the Midland District Attorney’s Office obtained a grand jury indictment based on the DNA profile, removing the statute of limitations.
The Texas Rangers selected the case for the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative program in March 2023, leading to new DNA testing and genealogy work by Bode Technology.
That testing produced a lead that allowed investigators to identify Woodard in 2026.
On April 1, the Midland District Attorney’s Office presented the case to the 142nd District Court Grand Jury, which issued a re-indictment naming Woodard. Rangers, assisted by the Midland and Big Spring police departments, located and arrested him at a convenience store the following day.
The Texas Rangers thanked the Midland Police Department, Midland District Attorney’s Office, DPS Crime Laboratory Division, Bode Technology and the Department of Justice/Bureau of Justice Assistance for their work on the case.
