DNA Evidence Helps Identify Deceased Serial Rapist In Two Tuscaloosa Cases

TUSCALOOSA, AL — The Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit on Thursday announced the identification of a longtime serial rapist who was suspected of sexually assaulting two women in the Tuscaloosa area in 1990 and 2001.

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VCU Commander Captain Jack Kennedy told local media during a press conference that, through DNA evidence, Elliott L. Higgins of Jemez Springs, New Mexico, was identified as the suspect in three sexual assaults between 1990 and 2004.

In the August 1990 case, Kennedy said a UA student was sexually assaulted after the suspect approached her at an apartment complex away from campus. The suspect reportedly put a knife to the young woman's neck, forced her into her vehicle and drove her to another location where she was sexually assaulted for an extended period of time. The assailant then abandoned her vehicle and left the area.

The 2001 case saw a realtor assaulted after she met an individual to show a home that was on the market.

Kennedy said the modus operandi and descriptions of the suspect in both Tuscaloosa cases differed, which made it difficult at the time for investigators two connect the two attacks.

While two of the assaults occurred more than decade apart in Tuscaloosa, the third occurred in 2004 in El Paso County, Colorado. Kennedy said this fit the same modus operandi as the attack on the realtor, along with the victim providing a similar description.

Higgins was unsuccessful in his attempt to sexually assault the woman in Colorado, who fought back and "bloodied his nose," Kennedy said, before explaining that the blood was then used to collect his DNA.

Kennedy referred to Higgins as a "disciplined offender," who adapted his approach over the years to accommodate his failing health when he attacked victims.

Kennedy said the 1991 case in Tuscaloosa County and the Colorado case from 2004 were connected by DNA recovered from both crimes, which showed that the same person was the suspect.

However, no viable suspect was found at the time, he said, despite an extensive investigation.

A big break came in October 2021, though, when the Violent Crimes Unit and the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences submitted samples of the suspect's DNA from the 1991 case to Parabon Labs for possible genetic genealogy research.

Kennedy said Parabon Labs then provided a possible suspect, and a subsequent investigation determined that Higgins — who died in 2014 at age 73 — was the suspect responsible for the assaults.

"It was found that Higgins was a teacher of collegiate music, and his family also operated a youth music camp in Jimenez Springs, the Hummingbird Music Camp," Kennedy explained. "Higgins specialized in the French Horn, and at one time, was the conductor of the Albuquerque Philharmonic, as well as a manager of the Santa Barbara Symphony in California, and the Fort Wayne Indiana Philharmonic in Indiana."

In an examination of his prior criminal record, investigators found that he had previously served prison time for sexual assault convictions in the 1970s, including sexual offenses on children.

It was around this time — 1976, specifically — that Higgins helped found, and then participated as a judge, in an annual collegiate musical competition, dubbed the "International Horn Competition." The festival was also referred to at one time as the "American Horn Competition."

"This competition was held at different universities across the United States, and it was found to have been hosted by the University of Alabama on the same year and week as the two Tuscaloosa County sexual assaults in 1991 and 2001," Kennedy said. "It was also confirmed through competition records that Higgins was present and a judge at both competitions in Tuscaloosa, the years of the sexual assaults in question."

Kennedy went on to say that, other than being in Tuscaloosa for the few days during the Horn Competitions, Higgins had no connection to the area.

Following the sexual assaults, Kennedy said, composite drawings, modus operandi, victim identification, and other evidence, showed Higgins was the perpetrator of these three sexual assaults.

What's more, he said subsequent DNA testing of Higgins biological relatives has now confirmed that Higgins is the suspect with probability greater than 99.999%.

"It is suspected that Higgins may have committed similar violent assaults throughout his lifetime, and throughout the country," Kennedy said. "All investigative information has been shared with all police jurisdictions where the horn competitions were held, as well as forwarded to the FBI."

Kennedy also praised the work of the numerous investigators who have worked diligently on the case for over 20 years.

"Due to their hard work, the professional standards of the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, and the utilization of new technology, this suspect has finally been identified," he said. "Although this subject is now deceased, by identifying him, we hope to bring closure to his known victims, and encourage any other persons who may have been a victim of Higgins to contact the appropriate police jurisdiction."

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