Man convicted of raping two teenage girls in 1985
A Mecklenburg County jury on Friday found a man guilty of raping two teenage girls more than 30 years ago, the district attorney’s office said.
The jury found Anthony Wyrick, 57, guilty on seven of the eight charges, officials said. .
The incident happened on Sept. 7, 1985 at an apartment on Park Fairfax Drive in northwest Charlotte, near where Freedom Drive meets Little Rock Road.
Police said two girls, 15- and 16-years-old, were asleep in the apartment when they were awoken by Wyrick, who had broken in using a crowbar.
Wyrick then bound and sexually assaulted both girls before fleeing, police said. The victims were able to get untied and call for assistance. But the police remained unsolved for nearly three decades.
Members of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department’s cold case unit reopened the case in 2011 and submitted evidence to the Beaufort County, S.C., sheriff’s lab, which ultimately identified Wyrick as a suspect.
Police said DNA evidence had tied Wyrick to the scene. Wyrick was arrested in Rowan County in 2014.
He has an extensive criminal history in Rowan County, including felony drug and second-degree rape convictions.
Observer archives contributed.
Staff reports
This story was originally published May 20, 2016 at 5:56 PM with the headline "Man convicted of raping two teenage girls in 1985."