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Sarasota man arrested 25 years after rape

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Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Published: April 11, 2009

SARASOTA - Authorities arrested a Sarasota man Friday in connection to a woman's rape and murder in DeSoto County in 1984 after DNA evidence linked him to the crime scene, police said.

James Clark, 50, is accused of breaking into the Arcadia home of Janet Sass, raping her and stabbing her twice.

She called 911 but died before emergency workers could find her.

Clark was on the top of a suspect list because he worked at the Arcadia Chrysler dealership across the street from Sass' residence. He refused to give a DNA sample to detectives reworking the case in 2005, police said.

In January, investigators found that Clark worked at KHS Flexible Packaging in Sarasota, and took DNA samples from a water bottle and telephone at his work station, police said.

A woman who answered the phone at his Sarasota residence in the 3800 block of Rilma Avenue on Friday declined to comment.

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