A 26-year-old man accused of violently attacking and raping an 80-year-old Kirkland woman on Oct. 25 was charged with first-degree rape and first-degree burglary on Thursday in King County Superior Court.
Redmond police on Wednesday arrested Moses Kelly, who detectives believe is transient and his residence is currently unknown. They located Kelly near a gas station in Redmond and took him into custody on Kirkland’s felony warrant. The warrant was obtained when DNA evidence gathered from the October assault came back as a match to Kelly.
“Officers spotted him walking into the gas station and arrested him without incident as he exited the station,” said Redmond Police Department (RPD) spokesperson Jim Bove.
Three officers were on the scene and they transported Kelly to the Kirkland Police Department.
Kelly’s bail was set at $1 million due to the “extraordinarily violent” manner in which he allegedly raped the woman, said Lisa Johnson, senior deputy prosecuting attorney, in charging documents filed on Thursday.
According to the police report, the 90-pound woman, who is small in stature, returned home on a Metro bus from a visit to Seattle on Oct. 25. When she got home, she went to close her front doors and saw the suspect swiftly walking towards her and assumed he might be a salesmen.
However, Kelly allegedly forced open her doors before she could lock them, “grabbed her by the throat/mouth area, choking her as he did so and forced her backwards into her residence,” according to the police report.
In her request for bail to be set, Johnson said during the course of the sexual assault the defendant allegedly “wrapped his hands around the frail and elderly victim’s throat, choked her with his hands and threatened to kill her if she didn’t keep quiet.”
However, despite the woman’s age, she fought back, bit the Kelly’s hand and the defendant responded by biting her, said Johnson.
“Close to losing consciousness and unable to breathe, there were moments that (the victim) was convinced she was going to die,” the prosecutor continued.
The suspect conversed with the victim during the assault and he told her he is currently homeless and had recently broken up with his girlfriend, according to charging documents.
When she asked him why he was raping her, he said, “I need sex,” the documents continue.
After the sexual assault, the suspect left and the woman called her husband who took her to the Group Health Urgent Care Center in Bellevue. She was later transported and treated at Harborview Medical Center.
A Washington State Patrol Crime Lab forensic scientist matched DNA from the sexual assault to Kelly’s DNA typing profile. His photo ID was also a very close match to a composite sketch that a Kirkland police contract sketch artist prepared in November.
Police also reviewed Kelly’s recent case reports that showed he is frequently listed as transient/homeless, which was consistent with statements the suspect made to the victim while he was raping her, according to charging documents. Kelly is known to use Metro and public transit, with previous contacts in Seattle, Woodinville, Federal Way, Bellingham, Mukilteo and Edmonds.
Kelly has no criminal felony convictions, but his criminal history consists of two convictions for criminal trespass in 2008 and 2011 and additional convictions for malicious mischief and fourth-degree assault.
He is being held in King County Jail and his arraignment is set for Jan. 3.
