Convicted killer faces jail for cold case rape
A convicted killer who raped a Swedish au pair in a park in 1984 is facing years behind bars after he was finally snared by his ‘one in a billion’ DNA profile.
Billy Day, 50, targeted the 19 year-old woman as she walked through Hendon Park in north London in high heels on her way to meet a friend.
He threatened to stab her and break her neck before telling her he was ‘off to find another girl’.
Day was only linked to the rape in 2013 after his ‘one in a billion’ DNA profile was found to match a sample left behind at the scene.
After jurors at Southwark Crown Court found Day guilty the jury they learnt he was previously convicted of manslaughter and perverting the course of justice in 1998 and jailed for 11 years.
Day had punched a man who hit his head and died from the injuries.
With others he then tried to dispose of the body by setting light to it and he was eventually jailed for his actions.
He looked forlorn as he was convicted again today – for offences that had taken place well before he had killed the other man.
Samantha Cohen, prosecuting, said the sex attack took place on 7 December 1984 in the park near Hendon Underground Station.
She told jurors: ‘This may all have happened a long time ago but for [the woman] it no doubt feels like yesterday.
‘She has had to wait a long time for justice, and so has Mr Day.’
Ms Cohen said the victim noticed footsteps behind her as she walked into the park.
‘She sped up – she was wearing high heels and a thick coat – but so did the person behind her, then he broke into a run and caught her up,’ said the prosecutor.
The rapist put his hand over her mouth and told her not to scream because he had a knife and would kill her.
Although he tried to cover her eyes, she was able to notice he was white, in his early twenties and was around 5’6? tall – a description that perfectly fit Day.
Following the rape Day ‘seemed hesitant about what to do next’ and eventually told the woman to ‘lie face down on the bench and not move’, said Miss Cohen.
‘He threatened to return and break her neck if she did.
‘His parting words were that he was ‘off to find another girl’.’
The victim waited for five minutes before running home screaming and raising the alarm.
Police were called and various DNA samples were taken but nobody was identified as a potential suspect, Ms Cohen explained.
Over the years the samples were supposedly re-examined a number of times but no suspect was identified.
On February 12 2013, Day provided a sample of his DNA which was compared against semen collected following the rape and ‘there was a hit’.
‘The chances of the semen having come from someone other than Mr Day are in the order of one in one billion,’ Ms Cohen told jurors.
‘In support of the identification is the evidence that Mr Day was connected to an address round the corner from the park at the time of the attack and is the same height and rough age as the rapist.’
Police interviewed Day under caution in August 2013 but he ‘refused to answer any questions’.
Day, of Cumbrian Way, Uxbridge, was convicted of one count each of rape, buggery and indecent assault.
He will be sentenced on September 2.
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