A West Baltimore man has been arrested in the rape of a 90-year-old Cockeysville woman.
Raymond P. Boyer, 42, of the 400 block of Denison Street, was charged with forcing the woman inside her home at about 8:00 a.m. on March 30, raping her and then taking off with her money and a purse. The woman had apparently opened her door to a man asking her to help light his cigarette. The victim was treated at the Greater Baltimore Medical Center and released, officials said.
Baltimore County police Capt. Martin Lurz said area residents were pleased to hear of the Friday arrest, nearly three months after the rape shook the community. Neighbors of the woman?s in the 10500 block of Howard Avenue ? a short, quiet street ? swept in to care for her after the incident, Lurz said.
“Obviously they were in shock,” he said. “They surrounded the victim with support. They would keep an eye out for her.”
Police also stopped by her house periodically to check in, Lurz said.
A helicopter hovered overhead after the rape and officers flooded the area, papering the streets with flyers and searching for a suspect, police and neighbors said.
A break in the case came when a red hooded sweatshirt allegedly worn by the suspect was discovered nearby, police said.
Investigators pulled DNA evidence off the sweatshirt, had it analyzed and allegedly matched it through a database to Boyer ? all of which took time, said Cpl. Michael Hill, a police spokesman.
Boyer was working at a company nearby when the rape occurred, which may have been why he was in the area, Hill said. But it?s not clear why Boyer allegedly chose the elderly woman or whether he targeted her home, he said.
Boyer was held without bail Monday in the Baltimore County Detention Center after a District Court hearing, an official said. In addition to the county rape and assault charges, he is wanted in Baltimore on an assault charge, city police said.
