Arrest In 1994 Denver Cold Case: Steven Cumberbatch Charged With Murder Of Rita Desjardine
DENVER (CBS4) - The Denver District Attorney's Office on Friday announced a big development in a cold case from the 1990s. The DA's office has charged Steven Cumberbatch with the murder of Rita Desjardine.
The break in the case didn't come until July 2018 when Denver police investigators connected Cumberbatch's DNA to evidence from the Denver motel room where her body was found by staff on Dec. 7, 1994. Desjardine was 36.
A witness said they saw a man matching Cumberbatch's description leaving the motel room.
Cumberbatch, 58, has been extradited to Colorado from Virginia.
Denver DA Beth McCann said funds from the National Institute of Justice helped provide the means to build the case against Cumberbatch.
