Docs: Serial rapist facing more than 50 charges; accused of raping 8 victims in 60s and 70s
Editor’s note: The following story contains details that could be triggers for victims of sexual assault.
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — An Indianapolis man faces dozens of felony charges after being accused of raping eight women since 2020. Police believe there may be more victims.
Formal charges have been filed against Darrell Goodlow, 37. Goodlow’s arrest was announced last Friday by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. He had been wanted for the rape of eight victims in six locations since August 2020.
Investigators say Goodlow’s victims ranged from 60 to 78 years old.
In some cases, he posed as a utility worker to gain entry. Some victims had their lives threatened.
In the end, police say a fingerprint left on a floor fan led to Goodlow’s arrest.
“He preyed on some of our most vulnerable. They were, as we’ve heard, grandmothers, mothers, our neighbors, our friends,” said Paul Holdeman, assistant special agent in charge for the FBI.
Goodlow faces 22 counts of rape, six counts of burglary, three counts of kidnapping, 11 counts of criminal confinement, four counts of sexual battery, four counts of strangulation, four counts of battery, three counts of intimidation, and a count of killing an animal.
“I want to acknowledge the incredible bravery and courage each of these survivors displayed by coming forward and reporting these attacks. Our hearts go out to them, and we hope and pray, now that their attacker is behind bars, these survivors can focus on healing and moving forward,” said Randal Taylor, chief of Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.
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Victim attacked while leaving for grocery store
Investigators say Goodlow’s first victim was held at knifepoint and raped on Aug. 1, 2020. The victim, 60, said she was preparing to walk out her front door to go to the grocery store. When she turned around to grab her purse, her attacker pulled on a storm door hard enough to break the lock and entered her home.
She said her put a knife to her face, then dragged her to a bedroom by her throat.
She said her attacker repeatedly asked her for money before raping her.
She didn’t get a look at his face due to her glasses being knocked off during a struggle.
She said he had placed several towels on her head.
3 sisters raped at 1 residence
Two months later, investigators say Goodlow struck again.
On Oct. 1, 2020, three sisters said they were tied up and raped by a man. The victims were between 67 and 74. Police arrived to find the back door open.
One victim said her legs were tied together with a shirt.
Another was tied up with a telephone cord and a nightgown.
All three feared for their lives.
“I’ll kill you if you call the police,” Goodlow is accused of saying.
The women said he would move between them, raping each of them repeatedly.
A dog in a garage had also been killed. A necropsy report states that the dog died from blunt force trauma.
Suspect poses as IPL worker
The Lawrence Police Department became involved with the investigation on Feb. 13.
When an officer arrived, the 78-year-old victim was afraid to open the door.
She said her attacker knocked on her door in the afternoon, saying he was an Indianapolis Power & Light worker and that needed to check something inside the home. She closes the door and told him no.
Court documents describe his attire as a dark hoodie, green construction hard hat, clear protective glasses/goggles and medical-style COVID-19 mask. She said he didn’t have an IPL badge.
She said he came back a few minutes later. When she opened the storm door to speak with him, she says he forced his way in.
Goodlow is accused of strangling her and saying “he would knock her out if she did not ‘shut up,’” according to court documents.
She said he blindfolded her with a red bandana.
IMPD sends warning to community
Another woman, 69, was raped June 7.
She told that when she answered the door that night, she thought her attacker was a tree trimmer because of the bandana around his face and the tools he had.
She said he knocked on her door, then forced his way in after she went to grab her hearing aids.
She said she was victimized repeatedly over the course of seven hours.
Her attacker kept covering her eyes and mouth.
She says he repeatedly told her he was about to leave, but then would come back.
“She waited twenty minutes silently in her bedroom before calling the police to be sure that he was actually gone,” court documents state.
When a DNA profile came back from a crime lab investigation, investigators discovered the same suspect was connected to three prior cases.
IMPD then warned the public that a serial sexual assaulter was targeting women in Indianapolis and Lawrence.
“I believe there is going to be evidence that connects him to all of these, and I think when we finally do catch him, I think that is going to be the thing that gets him convicted,” Taylor said at the time.
‘I could snap your neck’
Goodlow’s next alleged victim, a 65-year-old woman, said her attacker was armed with a kitchen knife when he broke into her house June 28. She said he had told her she needed to sign some paperwork and have some wood removed from her backyard.
She said he placed several masks on her face, then put duct tape or packing tape around the masks.
She said she was raped repeatedly for at least 12 hours.
She said her attacker told her “I could snap your neck” and “I could choke you out.”
“We’ve got people everywhere, if you go to the police, we’ll kill you,” he’s also accused of saying.
DNA recovered in this case again matched previous cases.
In September, she contacted police again. She asked if police were looking into Goodlow, who lived in close proximity. She told police that he fit the description and that sent her sexual text messages from his mother’s phone three years ago.
Fingerprint leads police to a suspect
Police investigated an eighth case Sept. 8.
A 66-year-old woman said she was sleeping on her couch sometime between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m.
She woke to a man grabbing her hair and pulling her off the couch.
She said she was raped repeatedly in her bedroom. She said her attacker with either a T-shirt, a towel or some other type of cloth.
During the attack, a fan was moved from the living room to the bedroom. A fingerprint on the fan matched Goodlow, according to police.
Court documents indicate this victim lived closed to Goodlow and knew his mother.
A warrant for a buccal swab of Goodlow was granted on Sept 14. and that warrant was served two days later.
Crime lab analysis linked Goodlow to all of the cases, according to investigators.
IMPD is not releasing his mugshot at this time, citing the potential for more victims and the need to avoid tainting “any potential identification,” according to an IMPD representative.
Goodlow is due in court at 10 a.m. Thursday, according to online jail records.
Mental health resources
- Be Well Indiana
- Indiana Suicide Prevention
- Indiana Department of Child Services’ Children’s Mental Health Initiative
- National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: 988 or 800-273-8255
- More resources
