Justice, though delayed, is no longer denied for a Florida woman assaulted in her home nearly two decades ago. Thanks to cutting-edge DNA technology and a relentless pursuit of the truth, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office has made an arrest in a 2007 cold case, finally identifying the man responsible for a brutal home invasion and sexual battery.
The case dates back to October 22, 2007, when an unknown male suspect assaulted a 65-year-old woman inside her Tavares residence. The perpetrator left behind a crucial clue: DNA, which was immediately collected and entered into CODIS, the national DNA database. For 18 years, the profile sat without a match, a frustrating silence for investigators.
The Genetic Genealogy Game Changer
The investigation gained new life in 2018 when the Lake County Sheriff’s Office enlisted the help of Parabon NanoLabs. The firm utilized its Snapshot Phenotyping service to predict the suspect’s physical appearance and ancestry from the DNA, even generating a composite image of the man at age 25.
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A bigger leap forward came through genetic genealogy. In November 2018, Parabon developed a profile suitable for upload into public genetic genealogy databases. Starting in 2022, both the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) Genetic Genealogy Investigations team and Parabon NanoLabs meticulously researched the data, building a family tree that would eventually lead to a name.
A Long Arm Reaches Ohio
The tireless work paid off in October 2025 when a critical lead was forwarded to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, pointing to a person of interest residing in Ohio. Working swiftly with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations and the Tiffin Police Department, detectives obtained a search warrant for the man’s DNA.
The final piece of the puzzle clicked into place on October 8, 2025. FDLE’s Orlando Crime Laboratory confirmed a definitive match: the DNA collected from the subject in Ohio was the same profile from the 2007 crime scene.
READ: Without A Trace: Florida Woman, Abby Lynn Patterson, Vanished In North Carolina In 2017
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office immediately obtained an arrest warrant for Larry Franklin Tucker Jr. on charges of Sexual Battery, Occupied Burglary to a Dwelling with Battery, and Kidnapping.
On October 9, 2025, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations located and arrested Tucker Jr., who was booked into the Sandusky County Jail before being extradited back to Lake County. He is now being held at the Lake County Jail.
The investigation is ongoing. Detectives are asking anyone with information regarding Larry Tucker Jr. to contact the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
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