DNA Breakthrough Links Texas Pastor to Decades of Bay Area Assaults

Cold Case Breakthrough After 30 Years

A Texas pastor who led a Pentecostal church has been arrested in connection with seven sexual assaults spanning 14 years across California and Texas, authorities announced this week. Lashay Durisseau, 56, of Richmond, Texas, was arrested Tuesday after authorities linked him to kidnapping and raping seven women from 1994 to 2008, including two Alameda County women in the fall of 2002.

The crimes were never solved, ultimately designated as cold cases. But Alameda County investigators had evidence from a Berkeley assault tested in 2015 linking the DNA to several other cases. On LinkedIn, Durisseau wrote that he was a senior pastor at a Pentecostal church called the Yoke Destroying Ministries International in Missouri.

The technique involves testing suspects' DNA against others in governmental forensic databases to identify potential relatives of a suspect, and comes as advanced DNA testing has helped close thousands of cold cases that would have once been unsolvable. The breakthrough came after years of methodical detective work and advances in forensic technology that have transformed law enforcement's ability to solve decades-old crimes.

Multi-State Investigation Unravels

A 2021-22 grant from the California Justice Department also allowed detectives to process more than 500 cold sexual assault cases, including the Berkeley cold case. Through that testing, police in Richmond, Oakland and Beaumont, Texas, also identified cases linked to the same suspect. The investigation revealed a disturbing pattern of violence that crossed state lines and spanned more than a decade.

One of the first cases police tied to Durisseau was a 17-year-old girl who investigators believe he accosted and raped after she left high school one morning in 1994. The assaults in Alameda took place in 2002, with one victim punched, threatened with a gun, and forced to have sex with him at the Berkeley Marina. In early November of that year, Durisseau attacked a 19-year-old woman at an Oakland bus stop, then forced her into his car and sexually assaulted her repeatedly.

In 2022, detectives requested assistance from the California Department of Justice, which provided critical forensic support with a familial search. A key development occurred when the FBI obtained the suspect's DNA for comparison testing, leading to the issuance of an arrest warrant.

Modern Technology Solves Old Crimes

The familial search DNA technique is a relatively new investigative tool that helps authorities "identify potential relatives of the alleged perpetrator" in offender databases. These databases are designed to provide law enforcement with investigative leads by comparing crime scene perpetrator DNA profiles against those collected from arrestees or convicted offenders or both.

On Monday, Bay Area detectives traveled to Texas and, with local authorities, including a Houston-based FBI task force, they arrested Durisseau without incident at his home in Richmond, Texas. The Berkeley Scanner reported that the Alameda County District Attorney's Office filed charges against Durisseau on Tuesday, alleging two counts of forcible rape and one count of forced oral copulation.

The arrest represents a significant victory for both law enforcement and survivors who have waited decades for justice. As DNA technology continues advancing and more jurisdictions invest in processing cold case evidence, similar breakthroughs are likely to bring closure to families and communities affected by unsolved violent crimes. The collaborative effort between multiple agencies demonstrates how modern investigative techniques can transcend jurisdictional boundaries to hold perpetrators accountable, regardless of how much time has passed.