A man who escaped justice for almost two decades has finally been locked up thanks to a DNA breakthrough.
Chilling Attack in Supermarket Car Park
On 7 October 2006, 25-year-old Kennedy Jimmy met a teenage girl and her friend in a supermarket car park in Shefford. Arriving with a pal, Jimmy waited until the girls went inside the shop. Then he dragged the victim into the back of the car and raped her. She managed to break free and ran to a nearby pub, where her friend called the police.
Modern Forensics Crack Cold Case
Despite an initial investigation, Jimmy, known to the victim as “Kenny,” wasn’t identified at the time. The case went cold—until Operation Painter, a specialist review by Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit, unearthed a forensic DNA match. This led to Jimmy’s arrest in November 2022.
Conviction and Sentence
Now 44 and from Stoke-on-Trent, Jimmy was convicted of rape after a five-day trial at Luton Crown Court in October last year. He was sentenced last Friday to six years behind bars with a lifelong restraining order.
