NORFOLK, Va. – After nearly 30 years ago, a man has now been sentenced for burglary of a woman's home and raping her.
Officials say Linwood Scott Jr. burglarized a sleeping woman’s home and raped her, but DNA evidence at the time could not help Norfolk Police in finding a suspect.
After the woman watched a television special about retesting rape kits, she asked the police to try again.
On Friday, Scott, now a 70-year-old man, was sentenced in Norfolk Circuit Court to serve 30 years in prison for his crimes.
Police say in the early morning hours of March 18, 1994, a 19-year-old Norfolk woman was asleep in her home on Stockton Road when she was awakened by Scott standing over her with a knife to her throat. Scott and the woman were not acquainted and, at the time, her husband was away working overnight.
They say Scott then took her from her bedroom down the hall to the bedroom of her then-2-year-old daughter, who was sleeping. Scott then pointed out a broken window and told the woman that was how he was able to enter her home.
Scott is said to have advised the woman that she get the window fixed before someone could hurt her and her family.
According to officials, Scott continued toying with the woman, forcing her into her kitchen where he showed off her phone lines that he had already cut. He then told the woman to get down on the living room floor and checked to see if anyone was outside. Officials say he then proceeded to rape the woman twice.
They say Scott then forced her back into her room and into her bed. According to officials he pulled the covers up over her head, instructed her to count to 100 and to not get up until she finished counting. He also is reported to have threatened to kill her if he later saw police in front of her house.
When Scott left, police say she got up, retrieved her daughter, and fled to a trusted neighbor’s residence for help. After police responded, the woman was taken to the hospital to submit a rape kit for DNA testing.
The woman was only able to provide a general description of Scott.
Sperm was identified in the rape kit, but officials say there was no suspect to compare it to at that time. After police continued the investigation into 1995, the case was placed in inactive status and effectively went cold.
In June 2019, the woman reached back out to Norfolk Police. A detective from the Cold Case Unit pulled her case file and the evidence and, upon retesting, the rape kit returned Scott as an investigative lead.
Detectives interviewed Scott and, after bringing up the 1994 rape, they say he began to cry and slump over in shame.
He then told the detective, “Y’all do what you got to do.”
On June 9, 2022, a jury found Scott guilty of burglary, rape, and abduction with the intent to defile. On Friday, Judge Michelle J. Atkins sentenced Mr. Scott to serve 30 active years in prison.
His sentence includes 10 years with five years suspended for burglary; 40 years with 20 suspended for rape; and 10 years with five suspended for abduction. His suspended time is based upon 10 years of indeterminate supervised probation upon his release from prison and no contact with the survivor.
“The wheels of justice sometimes move slowly, but they never stop, and today we have secured justice for the victim of this terrible crime,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “Our heart goes out to the victim in this case, who had to wait so many years for a break in the case. Once the case broke, we were here for her, and we cheer for her as she continues her journey.”
