PHOENIX — Police have announced an arrest has been made in a nearly 40-year-old sexual assault case out of Phoenix.
Phoenix police say 61-year-old David Mundt was arrested in connection to the case from July 6, 1986.
Police say that day, officers responded to the area of 7th Street and Greenway Parkway for a reported kidnapping.
When officers arrived, they found the home had been burglarized and a child was missing from their bedroom. Police believe Mundt sexually assaulted the victim after kidnapping them from the home.
The child was located by neighbors not long after the call and was returned home.
Despite investigators' efforts, the case was not solved and went cold.
In 1992, a child from Texas was kidnapped and assaulted in a similar fashion to the child in the Phoenix case. DNA from the two assaults matched, but the DNA did not match a known person in the CODIS database.
In 2024, Phoenix detectives pushed the case forward again, this time using Investigative Genetic Genealogy.
This process produced a lead and led police to identify the suspect as Mundt.
In August, Phoenix police worked with Texas authorities to locate Mundt and arrest him for the case in Texas.
After his arrest, Phoenix police worked with the Maricopa County Attorney's Office to secure an arrest for Mundt.
He is now being held on the Arizona charges of kidnapping and sexual assault, in addition to the charges in Texas.
Mundt will face the Arizona charges once extradition from Texas is worked out.
