Accused New Orleans Serial Rapist Linked To KC Rapes

Kansas City Police believe they now have their man. A man accused of a series of rapes in New Orleans has been linked through DNA evidence to three sexual assault cold cases in Kansas City from 2004.

35-year-old Daniel Meridy faces three counts of kidnapping, nine counts of armed criminal action and four counts of forcible rape, sodomy and sexual abuse in Jackson County. Meridy was arrested last year in New Orleans on numerous rape charges.

Court documents show the crimes occurred in May 2004 and involved three victims. The victims in those cases have been contacted and informed of the developments.

Prosecutors in Missouri previously linked the crimes to a single suspect and filed a criminal case naming “John Doe,” who had been identified only by his DNA profile. Meridy’s DNA was matched to the cases after he was arrested last year in New Orleans.

In a court filing Tuesday, prosecutors named Meridy as the defendant in the three Missouri sexual assaults.

His DNA also has linked him to at least five sexual assaults in New Orleans. Police say one woman there was raped in an alley after getting off a bus, while another was assaulted after accepting a ride from Meridy.

Meridy is still in custody in New Orleans while authorities there and in Kansas City decide the next step in both sets of cases.