A 59-year-old man from Virginia has been charged in connection to a 1994 cold case homicide of a woman in Denver, the Denver District Attorney’s Office announced Friday.

Officials said Steven Cumberbatch has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder for the death of 36-year-old Rita Desjardine. Cumberbatch was extradited to Denver last week to face the charges.

Desjardine was found dead in a Denver motel room on Dec. 7, 1994. Police launched a homicide investigation but were unable to find her killer until July 2018 when a new lead connected Cumberbatch to DNA evidence from the crime scene.

In October 2019, the District Attorney’s Office pursued charges against Cumberbatch after receiving a $500,000 grant from the National Institute of Justice, funding work to solve violent cold crimes for which a suspect has been identified but prosecutors have not yet been able to file charges.

“Violent crime cold cases are among the most challenging of all our cases,” said District Attorney Beth McCann. “This federal funding was key to building the case that led to charging Steven Cumberbatch with the murder of Rita Desjardine.”

DNA evidence was examined in 1994 and 2004 without any matches. But when it was re-examined in 2018, Cumberbatch’s DNA was in the databases because of offenses he committed in Virginia, according to the arrest affidavit.

Cumberbatch was found guilty of second-degree murder for an incident in Virginia in 2008, according to the U.S. District Court of Virginia. Cumberbatch is serving a 40-year sentence in the Virginia Department of Corrections for killing his girlfriend, Karen Adkins.

Adkins was stabbed 23 times on July 22, 2008, according to court documents. Adkins told police and hospital officials that Cumberbatch was her attacker before she died of her injuries hours later.

According to the arrest affidavit, Desjardine was smothered to death and had been assaulted before she died. When her body was found by motel staff, she was laying naked on a bed with bruises on her face and neck, with blood on her body and the bed.

Police identified five other suspects during the investigation who were at the motel about the time of the crime, but DNA tests were unable to place any of them at the scene during the killing, the affidavit said.

Cumberbatch’s DNA was found inside a gin bottle from the crime scene and inside a pair of white shorts that were on the floor next to the bed where Desjardine’s body was found. His fingerprints were also matched to various items in the room, including bloody prints on the bed.

A witness also reported seeing a man matching Cumberbatch’s description leaving the motel room before the discovery of Desjardine’s body, the affidavit said.

“I am proud of the collaboration between the Cold Case Units of DPD and the DA’s Office and the DPD Crime Laboratory that this grant is enabling,” said Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen. “The work being done under this grant is innovative and important for our community.”

A 59-year-old man from Virginia has been charged in connection to a 1994 cold case homicide of a woman in Denver, the Denver District Attorney’s Office announced Friday.

Officials said Steven Cumberbatch has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder for the death of 36-year-old Rita Desjardine. Cumberbatch was extradited to Denver last week to face the charges.

Desjardine was found dead in a Denver motel room on Dec. 7, 1994. Police launched a homicide investigation but were unable to find her killer until July 2018 when a new lead connected Cumberbatch to DNA evidence from the crime scene.

In October 2019, the District Attorney’s Office pursued charges against Cumberbatch after receiving a $500,000 grant from the National Institute of Justice, funding work to solve violent cold crimes for which a suspect has been identified but prosecutors have not yet been able to file charges.

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“Violent crime cold cases are among the most challenging of all our cases,” said District Attorney Beth McCann. “This federal funding was key to building the case that led to charging Steven Cumberbatch with the murder of Rita Desjardine.”

DNA evidence was examined in 1994 and 2004 without any matches. But when it was re-examined in 2018, Cumberbatch’s DNA was in the databases because of offenses he committed in Virginia, according to the arrest affidavit.

Cumberbatch was found guilty of second-degree murder for an incident in Virginia in 2008, according to the U.S. District Court of Virginia. Cumberbatch is serving a 40-year sentence in the Virginia Department of Corrections for killing his girlfriend, Karen Adkins.

Adkins was stabbed 23 times on July 22, 2008, according to court documents. Adkins told police and hospital officials that Cumberbatch was her attacker before she died of her injuries hours later.

According to the arrest affidavit, Desjardine was smothered to death and had been assaulted before she died. When her body was found by motel staff, she was laying naked on a bed with bruises on her face and neck, with blood on her body and the bed.

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Police identified five other suspects during the investigation who were at the motel about the time of the crime, but DNA tests were unable to place any of them at the scene during the killing, the affidavit said.

Cumberbatch’s DNA was found inside a gin bottle from the crime scene and inside a pair of white shorts that were on the floor next to the bed where Desjardine’s body was found. His fingerprints were also matched to various items in the room, including bloody prints on the bed.

A witness also reported seeing a man matching Cumberbatch’s description leaving the motel room before the discovery of Desjardine’s body, the affidavit said.

“I am proud of the collaboration between the Cold Case Units of DPD and the DA’s Office and the DPD Crime Laboratory that this grant is enabling,” said Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen. “The work being done under this grant is innovative and important for our community.”