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Daughter’s call, discarded coffee cup help identify man in 35-year-old Cincinnati rape case
WLWT • • general
Key Points:
- Dana Beatty was attacked and raped in her Cincinnati condominium in 1989, but the case remained unsolved for 35 years despite preserved DNA evidence.
- In 2023, advances in DNA technology and a tip from Beatty’s daughter led investigators to identify the attacker as Frederick Louis Tanzer, a Cincinnati-area physician with Jewish ancestry.
- FBI agents obtained Tanzer’s DNA from a discarded Starbucks cup marked “FRED,” which matched the DNA from the 1989 crime scene, confirming his guilt.
- Although the statute of limitations prevented prosecution for the assault, Tanzer was arrested and sentenced to 15 years in prison for making false statements to federal agents during the investigation.
- Beatty shares her story to inspire other survivors and advocate for changes to statutes of limitations on violent sexual crimes, crediting her daughter’s persistence for reopening the case.
