Texas Rangers Arrest Man in 1997 Midland Mall Sexual Assault Cold Case
MIDLAND, Texas – Nearly three decades after a woman was abducted and sexually assaulted in a Midland mall parking lot, authorities have arrested a suspect through advanced DNA testing and genetic genealogy.
The Texas Rangers announced that 61-year-old James Lee Woodard was arrested in April and charged with aggravated sexual assault in connection with a 1997 attack in Midland.
According to investigators, on Sept. 1, 1997, officers with the Midland Police Department responded to a report of a sexual assault at the Midland Park Mall. A 49-year-old woman told police she was taking out trash when an unidentified man grabbed her, threatened her with a box cutter, and forced her into a light-colored van.
Authorities said a second suspect drove the van while the assault occurred. The victim was later released from the vehicle.
For years, investigators pursued leads, interviewed witnesses, and submitted DNA evidence into the Combined DNA Index System, commonly known as CODIS, but no suspect was identified.
In 2001, the Midland County District Attorney’s Office presented the case to a grand jury, which issued an indictment against the unknown DNA profile, effectively preserving the case and preventing the statute of limitations from expiring.
In 2023, the Texas Rangers and Midland Police Department selected the case for review through the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI). Evidence was resubmitted for advanced DNA testing and forensic genealogy analysis through Bode Technology.
The testing generated a lead in 2025, and investigators used the information to identify Woodard as a suspect in 2026.
On April 1, 2026, a grand jury in the 142nd District Court issued a re-indictment naming Woodard as the suspect. The following day, Texas Rangers, assisted by the Midland Police Department and the Big Spring Police Department, arrested Woodard at a convenience store in Big Spring.
Authorities credited the success of the case to collaboration among the Texas Rangers, Midland Police Department, Midland District Attorney’s Office, the DPS Crime Laboratory Division, Bode Technology, and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance.
About the SAKI Program
The Texas Department of Public Safety’s (DPS) Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) program is funded by the Department of Justice/Bureau of Justice Assistance (DOJ/BJA). DOJ/BJA provides investigative funding for agencies across the United States to further unsolved sexual assaults and sexually related homicides with the hope of bringing justice to victims and their families.
