Carols Case News Today

How critical would you say the rape kits are in helping you solve these cases? >> theyre vital to our investigations, no question about that. >> reporter: sergeant welsh turned to the team here at the southwestern institute of forensic sciences. he asked them to test every single untested swab sitting in their freezer. there were thousands of them dating back to 1970. not a single one had ever been processed. the sergeant says decades ago, law enforcement just didnt have the tools to solve these...

>> weve solved well over 80 cases from the early 80s and early 90s. >> reporter: from the rape kits. >> from the rape kits. >> reporter: carols case was one of them. just four months, four months after carols kit was located and analyzed, the man who raped her was identified. but adding insult to injury, joseph houston couldnt be charged in carols case because the statute of limitations had run out. it turns out after carols rape, he kidnapped another woman and exposed himself to a child. carol ...

Dating back to 1970. not a single one had ever been processed. the sergeant says decades ago, law enforcement just didnt have the tools to solve these cases. dna technology wasnt available to them until the 1990s. >> weve solved well over 80 cases from the early 80s and early 90s. >> reporter: from the rape kits. >> from the rape kits. >> reporter: carols case was one of them. just four months, four months after carols kit was located and analyzed, the man who raped her was identified. but addin...