Cold Case Denver: DNA Evidence Leads To 160-Year Sentence in 1999 Rape and Kidnapping

DENVER, CO -- Albert Mathews, 53, whose DNA matched evidence in a 1999 rape and kidnapping case investigated by the Denver Cold Case Unit, was sentenced to 160 years to life in prison, Thursday, the Denver Co. District Atty's. Office announced.

Matthews was convicted by a Denver jury in August of second-degree kidnapping and first-degree sexual assault. Mathews's past significant criminal history slated him for a pre-sentencing as a habitual criminal at a separate hearing in September.

According to details provided by the Denver Co. DA's office, in October, 1999, the 44-year-old victim was estranged from an abusive husband. On Oct. 11, 1999, at night, she was invited by Matthews to stay with him in Denver. While the two walked to his home, he was convicted of attacking the victim, forcing her through an alley into a backyard where he assaulted her.

The case remained unsolved until March, 2015, when the Denver Police matched Mathews's DNA with evidence from the 1999 sexual assault. Denver’s Cold Case Unit took up the case, which led to Matthews's arrest on July 1, 2016. He has been held in custody since then, in lieu of $100,000 bail.

Image Albert Mathews via Denver Co. District Atty's office.