A Marlborough man and former charter school CEO has effectively been sentenced to life in prison for four sexual assaults in different Connecticut cities and towns in 1984.
According to the Chief State’s Attorney’s Office, 71-year-old Michael Marion Sharpe was arrested and charged with four counts of kidnapping in the first degree with a firearm after an investigation by the Cold Case Unit. He is not charged with sexual assault because in 1984 the statute of limitations for that crime was five years.
“Today’s sentencing shows that years of hard work and collaboration among multiple agencies in the pursuit of justice can finally lead to a successful result,” Chief State’s Attorney Patrick Griffin said. “The investigators and prosecutors in the Cold Case Unit never give up on these difficult cases and look to the latest advances in forensic science and other technologies to help solve them. Our hope is that this prison sentence brings some measure of peace to the brave women who testified at trial.”
The June 3, 1984 sexual assault of a 25-year-old female in Bloomfield
The June 26, 1984 sexual assault of a 30-year-old female in Middletown
The July 21, 1984 sexual assault of a 24-year-old female in Windsor
The July 24, 1984 sexual assault of a 24-year-old female in Rocky Hill
All four crimes were reported as stranger sexual assaults in 1984, when DNA testing was not available. Some testing was done in the 1990s that identified DNA at the scene as being from the same offender, but investigators did not have a suspect.
Three women who were Sharpe’s victims, spoke out after his sentencing. NBC Connecticut has chosen to only identify them by first name.
“I can’t say enough of the detectives. They never gave up hope and when they got the call two years ago that they got a match, I didnt know the other 3 women. I fell on the ground. I could not believe i actually heard this,” Linda said.
“I was afraid to feel hopeful and I can tell you it was just a relief. And the last two years have been hell because he basically sat in a nice cushy house and played all the games he’s done so well for so many years and I never thought that he would end up in jail. I just thought something was gonna happen and it was gonna change everything,” Kathy said.
“My daughter who was in the bed with me during the incident passed away between week 1 and week 2 of the trial, so she never got the opportunity to know that he was convicted and was going to jail,” Shelly said.
Office of the Chief State’s Attorney
Michael Sharpe
June 3, 1984
According to the arrest warrant, the first victim, a 25-year-old female identified as Jane Doe, reported to Bloomfield Police that on June 3, 1984, she’d been the victim of a burglary and sexual assault. She told police that she was sleeping in her bedroom and her roommate was asleep in another bedroom.
She reported that an unknown man entered her apartment at Sutton Park Apartments through the sliding doors and that she woke up when he was standing next to her bed.
“The intruder placed his hand over her mouth and told her not to scream or he would shoot her and her roommate,” the paperwork reads. The paperwork says the man blindfolded the victim, sexually assaulted her, and remained in the residence for some time. “The intruder disabled the telephone which was found in the rear yard, searched the residence for valuables and drank a beer from the refrigerator.” Authorities collected a sexual assault evidence collection kit as well as a bed sheet that the suspect came into contact with.
June 26, 1984
On June 26, 1984, the arrest warrant says a 30-year-old female, identified as Jane Doe #2, reported to Middletown Police that her apartment had been burglarized and that she’d been sexually assaulted. She told police that she was sleeping in her bed when an unknown man entered her place at Trolley Cross Condominiums through the sliding doors and jumped on top of her.
“The intruder put a gun to her head and told her that he had just shot someone earlier for not cooperating. The intruder blindfolded her, disabled the phone, searched her residence for valuables and money.”
The victim told investigators that the suspect led her downstairs to show him where her purse was and that when they came back to the bedroom he sexually assaulted her. “The intruder then remained in the residence asking if there was food in the refrigerator.” Jane Doe #2 told police that she guessed the man stayed at her place for several hours. Authorities collected a sexual assault evidence collection kit as well as a towel.
July 21, 1984
On July 21, 1984, the arrest warrant says that a 24-year-old female, identified as Jane Doe #3, reported to Windsor Police that she’d been the victim of burglary and sexual assault. She told police that she’d been sleeping in her bed when an unknown man entered her place at Rivers Bend Apartments through the sliding doors. She says she woke up to the man putting a gun to her head.
“The intruder then sat her in a chair, still blindfolded while he searched her residence of valuables and money, disabled the telephone, tampered with the correct time on her clocks, and ran water from faucets cloaking his departure.” Jane Doe #3 told police that she guessed the man stayed at her place for hours. Authorities collected a sexual assault evidence collection kit as well as a wash towel.
July 24, 1984
On July 24, 1984, the arrest warrant says a 24-year-old female, identified as Jane Doe #4, reported to Rocky Hill Police that her apartment had been burglarized and that she’d been sexually assaulted. She told police she was sleeping in bed with her two-year-old daughter when an unknown man entered her place at Westege Apartments through the sliding doors. She reported that she woke up to the suspect pointing a gun to the side of her face.
“The intruder told her not to scream as he began to touch her. Jane Doe #4 requested to move her daughter into another room prior to the assault. The intruder blindfolded her and additionally stuffed cotton balls into the blindfold. The intruder guided Jane Doe #4 who was carrying her sleeping daughter to another bedroom where she was placed onto the bed. The intruder guided Jane Doe #4 back to the bedroom from where she came and sexually assaulted her. The intruder stayed in the residence post assault, the telephone line was disabled, he searched for valuables and made himself something to eat.” Jane Doe #4 told police that she guessed the man stayed for more than an hour. The arrest warrant says the suspect left the water faucets running to hide his departure.
The arrest warrant says detectives in 1984 did not have the benefit of DNA but believed the crimes were committed by the same person because of similarities in the crimes, including the victim’s homes being close to major highways and the description of the suspect’s speech and demeanor.
New DNA Technology
In other court paperwork, investigators say “subsequent developments in technology led to the DNA analysis of evidence from the scenes of the four attacks linking them to the same, unidentified male profile.”
The state recently received a federal grant of $470,000 aimed to help fund investigations into violent cold case crimes. The Cold Case Unit is using forensic genetic genealogy and other advanced DNA to revisit these old cases.
Sharpe was identified as a suspect using information from publicly available genealogy data. On November 9, investigators collected his DNA from trash left at the curb. That sample matched DNA collected from all four sexual assault cases.
“They were able to upload this to public sourced databases such as GEDmatch and family tree and what happened from there we were able to generate a cousin, they were able to from that create a family tree. The genealogist going up first to a level that allowed them to come down to potential suspects. They gave us four people of interest,” explained John F. Fahey, supervisor assistant states attorney for the Cold Case Unit.
Fahey explained that their use of that publicly available genealogy data is just another investigative tool to help them track down a suspect.
The victims in each case are still alive and two still live in Connecticut. Fahey said investigators were met with “unanimous joy” when they contacted the victims to let them know of the developments in their cases.
“For more than three decades, four women wondered whether the man who committed unimaginable crimes against them would ever be brought to justice so it’s satisfying to see the system work, even after all these years,” said Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney John F. Fahey, head of the Cold Case Unit, who prosecuted the case.
“We are thankful that these four victims finally have some sense of closure. Today’s sentencing sends a message to all the victims and families out there that the Division’s Cold Case Unit will never stop looking for justice for them, as well,” he continued.
