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Decades-old cold cases in Massachusetts have finally been closed thanks to breakthroughs in forensic genetic genealogy. A man has been identified as responsible for two heinous crimes: a 1991 murder and a 1993 rape.
Authorities announced that DNA evidence from the murder of Cherie Bishop and the rape of Donna Bell was uploaded to the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), which eventually led to a significant breakthrough, according to Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz.
“For years, the families of Bishop and Bell lived without the closure they deserved,” District Attorney Cruz stated. “These tragedies weighed heavily on them for a lifetime.”
The tragic events began when 28-year-old Cherie Bishop was discovered strangled in a wooded area near her home in Brockton in June 1991. Two years later, Donna Bell was raped in the same city, adding to the community’s distress.
Investigators have now identified Robert Carey of Brockton as the perpetrator of both crimes. Carey, who passed away in 2025, was linked to the crimes through advanced DNA analysis, finally bringing resolution to these long-standing cases.
Bishop was found dead in nearby Mulberry Park, wearing only socks and a diamond earring, Cruz said. Her cause of death was ruled to be mechanical asphyxiation, and the manner of death was homicide.
Investigators collected DNA evidence through a rape kit and analyzed it at the time, but no suspect was identified. The evidence was later retested as forensic genealogy techniques continued to advance.
A rape kit was also collected in Bell’s case.
Cruz said Bell was abducted from the street and sexually assaulted by a man in a vehicle, who threatened to strangle her if she resisted.
She managed to escape after, authorities said, she seized a sharp object. Bell died in 2021.
On June 25, 1991, the body of Cherie Bishop, 28, was found face down and nude, wearing red socks and a single diamond earring. (Plymouth County District Attorney)
Cruz said investigators had known since 2016 that the cases were connected, but available DNA evidence did not identify a suspect until advances in forensic genetic genealogy provided a breakthrough.
“Their exhaustive investigative work, combined with a DNA sample match, identified Robert Carey as the perpetrator,” Cruz said.
On April 4, 1993, Donna Bell was walking on Annis Avenue in Brockton, and a white man driving a van grabbed her, Plymouth County District Attorney Cruz said. (Plymouth County District Attorney)
The district attorney’s office said Othram, a Texas forensic genealogy lab, identified a likely relative of the suspect, helping investigators ultimately identify Carey.
Carey, who died of natural causes in June 2025 at 64, lived at the Brockton Veterans Administration Medical Center, about 1.5 miles from both crime scenes, the district attorney’s office said.
“None of this would have been possible without the tremendous effort and devoted work of the Massachusetts State Police, Brockton Police, the State Police Crime Lab, Trooper Joe Collett, Assistant District Attorneys Samantha Mullin and Jennifer Sprague, as well as Forensic Scientist Krista Lundgren,” Cruz said.
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