REOPENED: Evidence Kit Chicago

Summary

Podcast Summary: Cold Case Files – REOPENED: Evidence Kit Chicago

Episode Date: October 30, 2025
Host: Brooke Giddings (A&E / PodcastOne)
Featuring: Narrator Bill Curtis, Sherry Mecklenburg, Detective Jeffrey Roberts, Brenda Crawford (Robin Hill’s mother), and survivors/victims.

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Episode Overview

This episode delves into the story of Robin Hill, a Chicago teenager whose 1998 sexual assault case languished unsolved for years due to a backlog of untested rape evidence kits. The episode explores the devastating impacts of delayed justice, the community-driven Women’s DNA Initiative that broke the logjam, and how breakthroughs in DNA technology finally brought a dangerous serial rapist to justice—though not in time to bring closure for all his victims.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

The Reality of Evidence Kits and Backlogs

• Graphic but vital context (00:19–01:46): The host outlines the extremely invasive process of a forensic sexual assault exam, underscoring the trauma victims face and their expectation of justice.

  • Notable quote:

    "Women undergo rape kit exams because they want their rapist to be caught, which makes the fact that there are at least 200,000 untested rape kits in the United States… so infuriating." (01:36, Brooke Giddings)

• The scale of the problem:

  • In Chicago alone, a backlog of 1,200 untested kits was cited (05:34, Sherry Mecklenburg).

Robin Hill’s Assault and the Immediate Aftermath

• Robin’s story (02:49–04:46):

  • Robin Hill, age 14, was raped on her way home, and her mother, Brenda Crawford, recalls both the traumatic discovery and the devastating after-effects on Robin.
  • Brenda Crawford:

    "She didn't want to go back to school no more... She didn't want to do nothing. She didn't even want to wear dresses." (04:37)

• Case stagnates: With no suspects, Robin’s kit sits untested for six years amid the worsening backlog.

Initiating Change: The Women’s DNA Initiative (WDNA)

• Formation and mission (05:44–06:54):

  • Sherry Mecklenburg spearheaded WDNA, a private effort to fund DNA testing where the city lacked resources.
  • Sherry Mecklenburg:

    "It wasn't a question of technology. It was totally a question of funding... Let's step up and just get it done." (05:44)

  • Kits nearing Illinois’ 10-year statute of limitations were prioritized.

• Triage process:

  • Kits with clear evidentiary value (e.g., containing semen) were tested first.
  • Robin’s case is among the initial 50 sent for private testing (07:13).

DNA Testing, Breakthrough, and Pattern of Crimes

• CODIS match and suspect revealed (07:13–08:06):

  • After six years, DNA from Robin’s kit leads police to Wayne Willis, whose DNA also connects him to at least three other unsolved Chicago rapes.
  • Detective Jeffrey Roberts:

    "Once his DNA profile got put into the code, his DNA database, he kind of went off like a pinball machine." (08:06)

• Willis: A serial predator

  • Willis was a fugitive, having evaded separate charges in North Carolina by leaving the state (08:30).

Locating Victims and Building the Case

• Reaching victims:

  • Detectives face the challenge of convincing survivors to revisit trauma and testify (10:25–11:10).
  • Detective Jeffrey Roberts:

    "To walk up, once you located them... and say, we need your help. We got this bad guy. Let me revisit and take you back to a dark place you don't want to go." (10:42)

  • Brenda Crawford:

    "They're scared that he might get off, come back after her, and kill him." (11:10)

• Robin’s courage:

  • Robin is initially hesitant, fearing the emotional toll of testifying—her mother gently encourages her toward justice (12:04–12:22).

More Victims and the Pattern Emerges

• Kenya Harvey’s account (16:46–18:04):

  • Kenya, another survivor, describes her 1999 attack by Willis; he is arrested but skips town before trial, remaining free to offend again.

• Willis’ methodology:

  • Detectives identify his patterns—targeting teenage girls, stalking and isolating them before assault (15:30).

• Underreporting acknowledged:

  • Both police and victims’ families suspect Willis’ actual number of victims is much higher (12:55–13:03).

The Importance of Testing Kits

• WDNA’s ongoing mission (19:03–19:36):
  • WDNA is highlighted as a template for community-driven efforts to address systemic problems in criminal justice.
  • Sherry Mecklenburg:

    "If we test these kits... we can solve old rapes, give the victims some closure... And because you can see, these are serial rapists... we can catch them before they have seven victims." (19:55)

Confession and Closure—At a Cost

• Interrogation and confession (20:24–23:00):

  • Police confront Willis, who at first refuses to confess but ultimately breaks down and admits to multiple assaults, providing chilling details of his process.
  • Detective Jeffrey Roberts:

    "When she started crying, which kind of took me by surprise a little bit, because I really didn't expect that emotion to come from him..." (21:26)

  • Willis estimates there were 19 completed sexual assaults and attempted another 17–20 (26:23).

• Victim testimony crucial:

  • The prosecution’s case hinges on the survivor, Robin Hill’s, willingness to testify.

Tragic Turn and Justice Delivered

• Robin’s fate:

  • Six weeks before Willis’s trial for Robin’s assault, she is killed in a car accident (28:19).
  • Detective Jeffrey Roberts:

    "I just got stunned because I really wanted her case to move forward. I wanted her to have a chance to have some type of closure." (28:27)

  • Brenda Crawford:

    "When she died, she was still coping with it. She would never get that out of her mind." (28:36)

• Trial and sentencing (29:00–29:28):

  • Prosecutors move forward with another survivor’s case.
  • Wayne Willis is convicted and sentenced to 33 years in prison, with more cases pending.
  • Detective Jeffrey Roberts:

    "I take my hat off to these young women. Took a lot of courage to be able to come forward after all them years and still try to get justice for what happened to him." (29:16)

• Reflections on public-private partnerships:

  • Sherry Mecklenburg:

    "I think what we showed is that we can work together to solve this, and what it really means is that these problems are not insurmountable." (30:14)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “If we test these kits… we can catch them before they have seven victims.”
  —Sherry Mecklenburg, 19:55

• "He would still be out there, and he would still be walking our streets stalking these women and young girls."
  —Detective Jeffrey Roberts, 23:10

• "When she died, she was still coping with it. She would never get that out of her mind."
  —Brenda Crawford, 28:36

• "I want him to get some years. I want him to hurt like my daughter hurt and like all these other girls has hurt."
  —Brenda Crawford, 28:51

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Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment / Topic | |---------------|------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:19–01:46 | The process and impact of sexual assault forensic exams | | 02:49–04:46 | Robin Hill’s assault and immediate aftermath | | 05:34–06:54 | Funding issues and formation of Women’s DNA Initiative (WDNA) | | 07:13–08:06 | DNA breakthrough and identification of Wayne Willis | | 10:25–11:10 | The challenge of getting victims to prosecute | | 11:34–12:22 | Robin Hill’s initial reluctance and resolve | | 15:16–15:49 | Description of suspect’s methods and victim’s experience | | 16:46–18:04 | Kenya Harvey’s testimony and Willis’s escape | | 19:03–19:55 | WDNA’s ongoing mission and statistics on serial rapists | | 20:24–23:00 | Interrogation and confession of Wayne Willis | | 28:19–28:36 | Robin Hill’s tragic death before trial | | 29:16–29:28 | Willis’s conviction and survivor courage | | 30:14–30:38 | Sherry Mecklenburg on solving unsolvable problems |

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Episode Tone and Style

The episode employs a frank, empathetic, and serious tone. Survivors’ voices are given prominence and dignity, while the systemic failures—along with grassroots efforts to fix them—are discussed in clear, impassioned terms. The narration by Bill Curtis adds gravitas, with Detective Roberts and Sherry Mecklenburg offering both chilling details and hope for the power of community action.

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Takeaways for New Listeners

• The episode is both a harrowing and hopeful exploration of how untested rape kits can delay and deny justice—but also how determined individuals can change the system.
• It personalizes the impact of delayed justice through Robin Hill’s life and untimely death.
• It illustrates how collecting DNA evidence is not enough—testing, funding, and community action are vital.
• The story reveals both the trauma suffered by victims and the persistence of advocates fighting for justice.

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For more information or support on these topics, visit A&E’s Real Crime Blog or seek out local survivor advocacy organizations.

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Transcript

[Sherry Mecklenburg]

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[Podcast Advertiser]

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[Crime Lab Representative]

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[Narrator/Host (Brooke Giddings)]

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[Sherry Mecklenburg]

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[Narrator/Host (Brooke Giddings)]

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[Victims/Interviewees]

Learn [e-mail] An A&E Original Podcast this.

[Narrator/Host (Brooke Giddings)]

Episode contains descriptions of violence and sexual assault. Use your best judgment. When a woman is raped, she has the option of going to a hospital for a sexual assaul forensic exam, commonly referred to as a rape kit. During the exam, the woman is asked about her medical history and questions about any sexual encounters they've had. They are asked how they were specifically assaulted. To help the practitioner focus the exam, she has to take off all of her clothes which are taken from her and placed in an evidence bag. Her body is examined from head to toe. This includes being swabbed in various places where where the attacker might have left his DNA. Pictures are taken of her naked body and then samples are taken of her blood and urine. When the exam is over, the woman is offered follow up treatment for possible STIs and possible pregnancy. Depending on the facility, information about counseling and support groups might be shared with the victim. The process is uncomfortable to think about and an additional traumatic experience piled on the trauma of being sexually assaulted. Women undergo rape kit exams because they want their rapist to be caught, which makes the fact that there are at least 200,000 untested rape kits in the United States, 11,000 in Canada, 175,000 in the UK, and an estimated over 10,000 in Australia so infuriating. One of those cases was Robin hill. She was 14 years old in 1998 when she was raped on her way home from a roller skating party. Her sexual assault forensic exam joined the thousands of others that went untested. From A and E. This is Cold Case Files. I'm Brooke and here's the sincere Bill Curtis with part one of a classic case evidence kit. Chicago.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

The Evidence Locker. This is the crossroads of crime and punishment. Within these walls, thousands of unsolved crimes take the form of evidence kits. And inside each one is the story of a victim waiting for justice. In 1998. Robin Hill is a high school junior.

[Brenda Crawford (Robin Hill's mother)]

She was outgoing, she loved to dance. You know, she just loved life.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

On a fall evening, Robin and her younger sisters walk home with their mother, Brenda.

[Brenda Crawford (Robin Hill's mother)]

And we kind of pipped along because her little sister couldn't walk that well.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

Halfway home, Robyn runs ahead and Brenda loses sight of her daughter.

[Brenda Crawford (Robin Hill's mother)]

We got to a something, Michigan. It was dark. I didn't see Robin no more. I'm like, dad, where she go?

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

When Robyn isn't at the house, Brenda sets out to look for her.

[Brenda Crawford (Robin Hill's mother)]

When I got halfway down the block, I saw Robin, and Robin was hysterical. And she told me, she said, mommy, a man assaulted me. And he said he'd kill me if I told anybody. I said, well, you know what you're going to tell.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

In the few minutes that Robin Hill was out of her mother's view, a man grabbed her, took her behind a garage, and sexually assaulted her.

[Brenda Crawford (Robin Hill's mother)]

But, see, Robin was a virgin. She didn't know nothing about all that, you know, so she didn't know what to do. And he put his coat over her head and told her. She hollered or scream he would kill her.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

Brenda calls the police and rushes Robin to the hospital, where the girl undergoes a rape evidence examination.

[Brenda Crawford (Robin Hill's mother)]

She never went through that. And then going. Taking stuff from her nails, her hair, and, you know, just stuff up her body.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

The evidence is packaged into a kit and turned over to the police. Afterwards, the victim and her family are left to deal with the devastation of rape.

[Brenda Crawford (Robin Hill's mother)]

She didn't want to go back to school no more. She didn't want to go outside and play. She didn't want to do nothing. She didn't even want to wear dresses.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

Chicago police can find no viable suspects in Robin's case, and the girl's evidence kit is placed in line with hundreds of other cases waiting for DNA testing. And that's where it stays for six years.

[Crime Lab Representative]

This is our case file room. Each one of these cases represents a crime. The evidence that's in our crime lab, that evidence eventually makes it to the state crime lab to be processed. And because of all the files and all the cases as you see that we have here, we got burdened. We just. The money ran out.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

The Chicago Police Department simply didn't have the money to pay for the testing. And the backlog just continued to grow.

[Sherry Mecklenburg]

The backlog in Chicago when we started this project was 1,200.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

Sherry Mecklenburg is Corporation counsel for the Chicago Police Department.

[Sherry Mecklenburg]

When we were talking about the backlog, we were talking about what to do about it. And the more that we talked about it, the more that I realized it wasn't a question of technology. It was totally a question of funding. If the kids are sitting there and they're not being tested because we don't have the funding right now, then rather than asking who should be paying, let's step up and just get it done.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

Mecklenburg decides to enlist influential Chicago women to create the Women's DNA Initiative, also known as wdna. It's a private foundation established to raise funds for DNA testing of backlogged evidence kits.

[Sherry Mecklenburg]

It was hard to even figure out which kits needed testing initially and how much money we needed to raise. So we basically just got the word out. We applied for grants and we got the word out to the public and we put the money in an account and asked the police department to pull the kits.

[Crime Lab Representative]

What we looked for basically is kits that we knew that we had evidentiary value to them. Okay, we know we have semen in this particular sexual assault kit. So we have a good strong case that if we submit this, we more than likely will come up with a suspect.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

Police focus on kits that are coming up against Illinois's 10 year statute of limitations on rape.

[Crime Lab Representative]

We were able to look at some of the cases that were getting close to the statute of limitations, so we started to pile these together to get these tested right away.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

Included in the first 50 kits going to a private lab for testing is the 1998 case of Robin Hill. The semen evidence, still viable, is taken through the intricate DNA testing process. And after three months, the lab has an answer for the police. A full DNA profile of a suspect. Finally, police have a lead in the case. The question now who, Whose DNA is it? The profile is entered into the CODIS Data Bank, a national system that stores DNA from convicted offenders. And six years after Robin's rape, the DNA profile matches up to a suspect. His name is Wayne Willis. Willis DNA also matches three other unsolved Chicago rapes.

[Detective Jeffrey Roberts]

Once his DNA profile got put into the code, his DNA database, he kind of went off like a pinball machine. And he hit to the four outstanding cases.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

In Chicago, Detective Jeffrey Roberts is given the task of tracking down Wayne Willis. He learns that a few months prior, Willis was picked up by Chicago police on a warrant out of North Carolina for four sexual assaults there.

[Detective Jeffrey Roberts]

This is actually his wanted poster from Raleigh's. North Carolina police were probably days within acquiring him when he jumped on a bus and made it back to Chicago.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

The suspect match is great news for wdna.

[Sherry Mecklenburg]

We had hits to a serial rapist who had been identified. I was thrilled to see it because it just confirmed that this really can be done and we really can get rapists off the street.

[Brenda Crawford (Robin Hill's mother)]

He didn't venture too far off of King Drive.

[Detective Jeffrey Roberts]

Yeah, it's just maddening. He slipped away through the system without being hit as a pattern.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

With the suspect locked up, Detective Roberts and his partner Jennifer Ghostin, head back to Willis's hunting grounds.

[Detective Jeffrey Roberts]

And he saw them coming past the food basket, walking through the parking lot, going northbound on King.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

They look for a pattern to the attacks, something that will help them unearth more links to their suspect.

[Detective Jeffrey Roberts]

So then he get out of the car. So he actually had to follow her almost a block. Immediately. He took her up here, down this way. And at the same time, he's searching in the yards, looking for a spot that he can take her to. I would put it in an analogy of a crack cocaine addict. When you. When that person or individual hit that cocaine pipe for the very first time, then every subsequent high is chasing that first one. Our victim comes back west, walking down 86th Street. And so he left his car, got out on foot, followed her. She went this way. That's a lot of nerve, though, to grab this young girl.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

After revisiting the crime scenes, detectives move on to the most difficult part of building a sexual assault case. Attempting to locate the victims and convincing them to prosecute. At that point, it's a matter of.

[Victims/Interviewees]

Contacting each and every victim and witness.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

That we thought was really critical to the case, Establishing a relationship with them.

[Detective Jeffrey Roberts]

They really didn't have. They didn't see him until they were grabbed.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

The problem is, many women who have.

[Detective Jeffrey Roberts]

Been raped, it's the next one 14.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

Don'T want to be found.

[Detective Jeffrey Roberts]

You're talking about a young woman or woman at that particular time who's experiencing the most horrendous moment in her life. And you don't know how she was able to put that behind her so that she's able to move on with her life. And then to walk up, once you located them, ring that doorbell and say, we need your help. We got this bad guy. Let me revisit and take you back to a dark place you don't want to go.

[Brenda Crawford (Robin Hill's mother)]

You know why? Because of the simple reason. They're scared that he might get off, come back after her, and kill him.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

In July of 2004, detectives locate Robin Hill. Six years after she was sexually assaulted.

[Brenda Crawford (Robin Hill's mother)]

He must have grabbed her and took her back here. This is where he did it at, right here. She called me on the phone. She said, mommy, guess what they called the man who did that to me. And I'm like, that's good. She said, are you gonna be behind me? I said, all the way, baby. All the way. We gotta put him away.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

But Robyn struggles with the idea of reliving her attack in a courtroom.

[Brenda Crawford (Robin Hill's mother)]

She had planned to do it, but. But she didn't want to. She like, mommy, how Am I going to do this? You know, I want to forget it. I said, but Robin, then he won't be put away. She said, well, Mommy, I'll try.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

Robin eventually agrees to work with police and prosecutors. Detectives are also able to track down Willis, three other Chicago victims.

[Detective Jeffrey Roberts]

And I found her here at this address.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

And each ultimately agrees to prosecute. Wayne Willis is charged with four separate counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault. But detectives are convinced that this serial rapist has attacked even more women.

[Detective Jeffrey Roberts]

Only thing I'm just a little despondent about is the fact of not finding all his victims.

[Victims/Interviewees]

I believe that there are other victims out there. I think that crime as a rule is under reported. But I do believe that he's responsible.

[Brenda Crawford (Robin Hill's mother)]

For more than the sexual assaults that we have worked on.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

While Wayne Willis awaits trial, Roberts and Ghostin build their case against him, searching for other possible victims.

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[Narrator/Host (Brooke Giddings)]

The Women's DNA Initiative raised money to have the backlog of untested rape kits processed, including Robin Hill's exam six years after she was assaulted. The DNA was matched to a man named Wayne Willis, whose DNA also connected him to at least three additional rapes. All four women agreed to press charges against Willis while the police searched for additional victims.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

It doesn't take long to find one in broad daylight.

[Victims/Interviewees]

He got my dress up. I'm up against a tree. You know, I was telling him, you know, I have a son at home. Please don't hurt me.

[Detective Jeffrey Roberts]

Well, it appears to be he was quite methodical in the method that he used to stalk his victims.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

Chicago sex crimes detectives Jennifer Ghostin and Jeffrey Roberts have a sexual predator in their crosshairs. This was a person that was really.

[Victims/Interviewees]

Good at attacking young women.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

His name is Wayne Willis, and DNA has connected him to four sexual assaults. The suspect targets teenage girls on the city's south side. Brenda Crawford's daughter, Robin Hill, is one of Willis's victims. Six years after the crime, her daughter's fears about Willis still haunt Brenda.

[Brenda Crawford (Robin Hill's mother)]

She would never get that out of her mind. And any girl who is assaulted, it's hard to get out of her mind. She was scared that she would meet him again because he had told her, if you tell anybody, I will kill you.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

Detectives soon learn that Wayne Willis is responsible for even more crimes. The suspect had been arrested for an attempted sexual assault a year after he attacked Robin Hill.

[Victims/Interviewees]

This happened, I think, August 3, 1999. I was 25 years old at the time.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

On a summer morning, Kenya Harvey took the bus to Chicago State University to register for classes.

[Victims/Interviewees]

I noticed him on the bus with me because I got on at 63rd and King Drive, and we went straight down.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

Kenya headed on to campus, and I.

[Victims/Interviewees]

Seen a guy walking up behind me. He was walking kind of fast, and as I was turning around, because he was coming up on me so fast, he had grabbed my behind. So I kind of put my hand up, and I'm like, whoa, what are you doing?

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

The stranger told Kenya to walk with him. The man was large, and Kenya was scared. He led her to a wooded area on campus.

[Victims/Interviewees]

At that point, I started praying, and I'm like, jesus, please help me. You know, I don't want him to do anything. I'm like, sir, please. Whatever you want, you can have. He told me to turn around against the tree. And I turned around against the tree. At that point, he lifted my dress up and started kissing all over my legs, my behind, you know, all up my back. And I'm still praying. And he's like, look, if you say one more word, I'm gonna knock you out. So at that point, I stopped, and I'm praying in my head.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

Perhaps her prayers had already been heard, because Kenya's Attacker had a sudden change of heart.

[Victims/Interviewees]

He was like, okay, if I let you go, would you tell? And I said, no.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

The man ran away, and Kenya ran to the police. Within an hour, she was in the back of a patrol car when she spotted her assailant on the street.

[Victims/Interviewees]

I said, that's him. And he was like, you sure? I'm like, I'm positive.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

The man was identified as Wayne Willis and placed under arrest. Nine months later, Kenya Harvey was prepared to face him again in court. But Willis skipped town before his trial.

[Victims/Interviewees]

They was just like, well, we'll put a one out for his arrest next, you know, and it was just like, dang, you know, now he's out on the street and he's going to do it to someone else.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

Over the next four years, Willis continued his crime spree, allegedly assaulting four other women in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 2004, WDNA raises the funds for Chicago police to test their evidence kits.

[Sherry Mecklenburg]

Women's DNA Initiative, which is, we call it WDNA for short, is a group of women in the private sector, and we've come together to try to raise funds for DNA testing of criminal sexual assault kits, the rape kits that are backlogged.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

In its first year, WDNA has funded the testing of at least 50 evidence kits in the Chicago Police Department. And they won't stop there.

[Sherry Mecklenburg]

The women of WDNA are committed to raising money to eliminate, not just reduce the backlog here.

[Brenda Crawford (Robin Hill's mother)]

If he doesn't go away, he's going to do it to other people and maybe do more damage. So he ought to be put away because he look at all the people he done did to.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

For Sherry Mecklenburg, founder of wdna, identifying predators like Wayne Willis is the whole point.

[Sherry Mecklenburg]

If we test these kits, as you can see from the hits we've already gotten, we can solve old rapes, give the victims some closure so they can stop wondering if he is still out there. And because you can see, these are serial rapists, I believe the statistics are that each rapist rapes seven times before they are caught. We can catch them before they have seven victims.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

In July of 2004, Detective Jeffrey Roberts prepares to confront Wayne Willis about the rapes of four teenaged girls.

[Detective Jeffrey Roberts]

When I sat down with him, I had all the case files in front of me and I took them in chronological order by year. I told them, we know there's more victims out there, without a doubt, but we gonna speak specifically on these because your DNA was extracted from their kits.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

But the detective does not want an admission from the suspect. In fact, he Wants the opposite.

[Detective Jeffrey Roberts]

I don't want you to confess. I want you actually to do the crook thing and tell me you want a lawyer. You don't want to say anything, because if you take that approach, then that means you'll be hammered pretty good if you're convicted on all counts as a predatory, dangerous sexual offender, and hopefully you'll get to max, where you'll spend the rest of your natural life in jail.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

Faced with the overwhelming evidence, however, the suspect breaks down and says he wants to talk.

[Detective Jeffrey Roberts]

Well, I'll tell you this, when she started crying, which kind of took me by surprise a little bit, because I really didn't expect that emotion to come from him at that point.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

The detective is joined by an assistant state's attorney who takes a written statement from Willis. They begin with the case of Robin Hill.

[Detective Jeffrey Roberts]

In this particular one, he was showing a photograph of the victim. It's kind of like a reverse photo lineup to see if he remembered the victim. And just to briefly read it to you, Wayne states that he remembered the girl in exhibit one, which was a photograph he was shown.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

The detective then asks Willis how he approached the young woman.

[Detective Jeffrey Roberts]

Well, that case, I asked him how he was able to acquire the victim when she was walking with her family. And he gave us an admission of when he first spotted her, how he followed her on a bicycle, then on foot. And then once she got out of eyesight of her family, he was able to grab her and then take her into a rear yard, actually behind a house, where he sexually assaulted her.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

Willis goes on to describe his attack on Robin.

[Detective Jeffrey Roberts]

Wayne states that he placed his forearm around her neck, told her not to make a sound. And then he goes into what he actually did to that victim. He described how he forced her to get on the ground, disrobe, and then the sexual acts that he made her perform for his sexual gratification.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

Wayne Willis gives up the details of each of his four Chicago assaults. Detective Roberts believes the apprehension of this serial rapist could not have come soon.

[Detective Jeffrey Roberts]

Enough if he hadn't been caught. If his DNA had never been left at scenes he'd never been identified, he would still be out there, and he would still be walking our streets stalking these women and young girls. A very dangerous sexual predator.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

With a confession added to the DNA evidence, detectives believe their case is made. But convicting Wayne Willis will come down to the most important evidence of all. The victim herself. Six years after she was sexually assaulted, Robin Hill's attacker is identified. DNA tests performed on semen samples in Robin's evidence Kit have led police to a suspect, 38 year old Wayne Willis. Willis DNA also matches semen from three other rape victims kits.

[Sherry Mecklenburg]

When you have evidence sitting on a shelf that can convict somebody or exonerate an innocent person and we have the technology to test, seemed to be our responsibility to do that.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

The women's DNA initiative has provided the funding to get Robin's kit and hundreds of others out of backlog into the DNA lab. Now Robin tries to gather the strength to face her assailant in court.

[Brenda Crawford (Robin Hill's mother)]

She was scared. She just said, mommy, I don't think I'm strong enough to do it. I said, yes you will baby, but mommy's gonna be behind you.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

While Robin and her mother wait for Willis's trial, Chicago detective Jeffrey Roberts decides to get up close and personal with the accused predator. The suspect has already confessed to four Chicago sexual assaults, including Robin Hills. But the detective wants to know this serial offender even better to help him ID serial rapists in the future.

[Detective Jeffrey Roberts]

I came in and sat and spoke with him again and I actually asked his help because we what I tried to get across to him. If you can honestly tell me or give me some idea of the scope of what you did, why you did it, how it came about, it would help me in my job to be a better sexual crimes detective.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

Willis agrees to take Roberts on a journey through the back alleys of the criminal mind.

[Detective Jeffrey Roberts]

The things that he explained to me was that his crime was actually based in fantasy. And this was something that had been with him since his mid to late teens.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

Willis tells the detective that he began acting out these fantasies about 20 years ago.

[Detective Jeffrey Roberts]

A lot of times he would be just trying to get home, coming from work, going somewhere. And at that point he would run across a young woman who would then he would become attracted to. And once that attraction clicked in, then the rest of it came in progression. But for whatever reason, as he stated, he couldn't stop himself.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

The serial rapist goes on to give the detective an estimate of his total number of victims.

[Detective Jeffrey Roberts]

19 young women and women that he sexually assaulted with another double digit number of 17 to 20 in his estimation that he attempted to get. But for whatever reason, he was unsuccessful in acquiring him.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

To date, without any more DNA samples to test, detectives have not been able to link any more attacks to Wayne Willis. For now, they are satisfied that four Chicago victims will see justice served.

[Detective Jeffrey Roberts]

I have all the confidence in the world that he will be prosecuted and sentenced to whatever appropriate term in penitentiary he deserved for what he did.

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[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

On July 31, 2006, Wayne Willis is scheduled to stand trial for the 1998 rape of Robin Hill, the first of his four Chicago victims. But six weeks before the trial date, tragedy strikes the young woman for a second time.

[Brenda Crawford (Robin Hill's mother)]

So Robin had a very bad car accident.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

Robin is killed in the crash.

[Detective Jeffrey Roberts]

I just got stunned because I really wanted her case to move forward. I wanted her to have a chance to have some type of closure.

[Brenda Crawford (Robin Hill's mother)]

When she died, she was still coping with it. She would never get that out of her mind.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

For Robin's mother, the tragedy of losing her daughter has only strengthened her need to see Wayne Willis punished.

[Brenda Crawford (Robin Hill's mother)]

I want him to get some years. I want him to hurt like my daughter hurt and like all these other girls has hurt it.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

Without Robin's testimony, prosecutors decide to move forward with their second victim and her case of aggravated sexual assault. On January 5, 2007, a jury finds Wayne Willis guilty.

[Detective Jeffrey Roberts]

Elated that he was found guilty. And I take my hat off to these young women. Took a lot of courage to be able to come forward after all them years and still try to get justice for what happened to him.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

Three months later, Willis is sentenced to 33 years in prison. He still faces sentencing on two other Chicago rape cases, as well as possible prosecution on six additional sexual assault cases in Illinois and North Carolina.

[Detective Jeffrey Roberts]

Personally, I don't think he should ever walk the earth again. I think that the same things that drove him to commit the crimes that he committed, if he was out now, he still would be committing those type of offenses. So he should be away forever for what he did.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

Much of the credit for bringing this serial predator to justice lies with the women's DNA initiative and its founder, Sherry Mecklenburg.

[Sherry Mecklenburg]

Well, we didn't do it alone by any means. I think it shows that the community and the police working together can solve these problems because they're really not just law enforcement problems, they're also the public's problems when we have crime. So I think what we showed is that we can can work together to solve this, and what it really means is that these problems are not insurmountable.

[Narrator/Host (Brooke Giddings)]

Wayne Willis is currently serving out a sentence in an Illinois prison. I found no evidence that he was tried for any additional assaults in North Carolina. Willis is currently 54 years old and will not be eligible for parole until the year 2048 when he's 82 years old. Cold Case Files the podcast is hosted by Brooke giddings, produced by McKamey Lynn and Steve Delamater. Our executive producers are Jesse Katz and Ted Butler. Our music was created by Blake Maples. This podcast is distributed by Podcast one. The Cold Case Files TV series was produced by Curtis Productions and is hosted by Bill Curtis. You can find me rookginnings on Twitter and Brooke Brooke the podcaster on Instagram. I'm also active in the Facebook group Podcast for Justice. Check out more Cold case [e-mail] or learn more about cases like this one by visiting the A E Real crime [e-mail] RealCrime.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

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[Brenda Crawford (Robin Hill's mother)]

This is my kind of place.

[Narrator (Bill Curtis)]

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