Suspect Charged With Rape, Kidnapping in 2005 Attack

EL CERRITO, CA — A Richmond man already in Santa Rita Jail for sexual assault, kidnapping, robbery and burglary charges from 2008 and 2015 is facing new charges in a 2005 El Cerrito case. The Alameda County District Attorney's Office has filed two counts each of rape and kidnapping in connection with that case, according to court documents.

Keith Asberry is accused in the violent 2005 home invasion in El Cerrito.

Investigators said they were able to solve the crime in part due to advances in forensic science, finally identifying 33-year-old Asberry as a suspect using a new DNA test.

According to El Cerrito police, Asberry knocked on the door of a home in the 1400 block of Liberty Street shared by two roommates at about 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 14, 2005, shortly after the women had returned home.

When one of the residents opened the door, Asberry, wearing a mask and dark clothing, threatened her with a gun and forced his way inside, police said. He demanded their money and jewelry and walked them to different rooms of the house, taking one of the roommates to a bathroom and forcing her to lie on the floor and then taking the other 20-year-old roommate to her bedroom. He also forced her to lie on the floor before raping her, police said.

After that, he took one of their car keys. Asberry tried to force them to come with him, but when they refused, he took the car and fled. At the time, police were looking into the possibility that the suspect had stalked the women earlier in the evening, watching them walk into the apartment. They had only lived there for about two weeks at the time.

The case remained unsolved for over a decade. "This sexual assault case was one that weighed heavily on many Officers who were working here when it happened," police officials wrote in a statement. "This violent home invasion sexual assault was investigated fully in 2005 but remained unsolved."

— Bay City News contributed to this report; Image via El Cerrito Police

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