An American man has been sentenced to 650 years in prison after DNA testing on a water bill envelope led to his arrest over three decades after he committed a series of brutal sexual assaults. Stephen Ray Hissler, 59, terrorized Shelby County, Tennessee, in the 1980s, breaking into homes at night armed with a gun or knife, waking his victims, then binding and sexually assaulting them. During his attacks, he often wore a bulky coat and concealed his face with a mask.
For 35 years following his assaults, Hissler remained at large, and police could not identify him until 2020 when DNA testing from a water bill envelope led to his arrest. The New York Times reported that his DNA matched that from another crime scene on August 17, 1985.
Yesterday, Hissler was sentenced to 650 years in prison after being convicted of two counts of rape, six counts of committing unlawful sexual behavior, seven counts of burglary resulting in physical injury, three counts of committing criminal sexual behavior, and one count of theft. James P. Landwerlin, the District Attorney of Shelby County, stated that Hissler committed a horrific crime spree from August 14, 1982, to August 17, 1985. During this time, he brutally attacked 10 victims, including a 16-year-old girl, seven women, and two men, one of whom was a former Marine whom he bound and attacked, leaving him in a coma for months.
Prosecutors stated that Hissler was "very cautious," meticulously cleaning crime scenes and taking items he had touched. However, in 1990, he was convicted of rape in neighboring Decatur County, which resulted in a 10-year prison sentence, and he was released about two months before inmates were required to submit DNA.
Yet, Hissler was not linked to any assaults in Shelby County until DNA from a recent crime scene in 1985 was sent to a specialized lab using DNA technology to solve complex cases. In 2020, Hissler was identified as one of two potential suspects, and a DNA sample taken from a water bill eventually led to his conviction, according to the British Mirror newspaper.
