NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. – A man who is already serving a life sentence in an unrelated case was recently identified as a suspect in the 1990 rape and fatal beating of an 88-year-old woman, according to the New Smyrna Beach Police Department.
Police said they received a call on July 25, 1990 from Whitney Gunn, 88, who said she had been raped and beaten at her home on Live Oak Street.
Despite being left for dead inside her home, she was able to call 911 and our officers back then, responded," New Smyrna Beach Police Chief Mike Coffin said.
Gunn died three days later of injuries she suffered during the attack, according to a news release.
Gunn was unable to identify her attacker and the case went cold until the summer of 2017 when New Smyrna Beach police investigators submitted evidence from the crime scene to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for DNA analysis.
"They were relentless in pursuing the facts and never gave up hope that we would find justice for Whitney Gunn. That's what today's about: Whitney Gunn," Coffin said.
Police said they got a match on the DNA that led them to charge Lynn Eugene Young with Gunn's rape and murder.
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Young, 45, was 17 years old at the time of the attack. He was recently indicted on charges of first-degree murder, burglary with battery and sexual battery by use of force causing serious personal injury.
"This is a monster. An extremely bad person," Coffin said.
Young is already serving a life sentence for impersonating a police officer and raping a 65-year-old woman in 1997.