MPD has closed a homicide case nearly 30 years old with the arrest of a Woodbridge, Va. man Tuesday.
The victim in the case is Rachel Cox, a Southeast DC woman who was 43 years old on January 1, 1984, the day she was found dead inside a building in the 3300 block of 6th Street, Southeast.
Cox had been sexually assaulted and stabbed, MPD said Tuesday. She was one 175 people killed in DC that year and until now her death remained unsolved.
On Tuesday Joe Anthony Barber, 55, was arrested on suspicion on first degree felony murder in connection with the case.
Police did not say what led investigators to Barber, only saying that the case included “comprehensive investigation by members of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Branch, Cold Case/Major Case Unit, and with the assistance of the Bode Technology Group, the District of Columbia’s Department of Forensic Sciences, and the United States Attorney’s Office.”
A press release from MPD is below.
November 5, 2013
Arrest Made in Cold Case Homicide which occurred in 1984:
3300 Block of 6th Street, SE(Washington, DC)-Detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Branch, Cold Case Unit, announced an arrest has been made in a 1984 cold case homicide which occurred in the 3300 block of 6th Street, SE.
On Sunday, January 1, 1984, at approximately 6:29 am, officers from the Seventh District responded to a call for an unconscious female inside of the 3300 block of 6th Street, Southeast. Upon arrival, they located an adult female that appeared to have been the victim of a sexual assault and stabbing. The victim showed no signs consistent with life and was transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for a determination of cause and manner of death.
On the same day, an autopsy was conducted and ruled the cause of death to be multiple stab wounds and the manner homicide.
The decedent is identified as 43-year-old Rachel Cox of Southeast, DC.
On Monday, November 4, 2013, after a comprehensive investigation by members of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Branch, Cold Case/Major Case Unit, and with the assistance of the Bode Technology Group, the District of Columbia’s Department of Forensic Sciences, and the United States Attorney’s Office, an arrest warrant was obtained. On Tuesday, November 5, 2013, members of the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force located and arrested 55-year-old Joe Anthony Barber of Woodbridge, Virginia. He has been charged with First Degree Felony Murder in the death of Ms. Rachel Cox.
