A cold case has been solved 25 years after the crime

SMYRNA, Ga. (FOX 5 Atlanta) - A cold case has been solved 25 years after the violent crime. Smyrna Police said it took technology and persistence to crack the case.

Police said it was Feb. 23, 1994, a man walked into the B & H Cleaners on Herodian Way with a gun. Police said he demanded the young woman working there give her all the money, then he forced her into a back room and raped her. Investigators tried to figure out who the man was, but the trail went cold, until now, two and a half decades later.

"We uncovered some old DNA evidence that we sent to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for testing," said Smyrna Police Sgt. Louis Defense. 

As it turned out, there was a match in the GBI database. The results led investigators to 44-year old Walter Bullard.

"We remained vigilant and persistent, the technology caught up to the DNA evidence we collected years ago," said Sgt. Defense.

Bullard was already in the Cobb County jail on unrelated charges. According to jail records, he is now charged with rape, kidnapping, false imprisonment, aggravated sodomy, and armed robbery. That is five felony charges, 25 years after the crime.

"It demonstrates our resolve that we don't forget our victims and we're going to follow every lead until we find somebody," said Sgt. Defense.

Family and friends of the victim told FOX 5 News, even after 25 years it is still very painful, and they are relieved someone has finally been arrested.