Auburn police make arrest in 2003 cold case

Bobby Pitts/Source: Auburn Police Department

Auburn police have made an arrest in a cold case dating back to 2003.

Assistant Police Chief Michael Harris tells Action 8 News that 75-year-old Bobby Pitts, of Auburn, has been charged with kidnapping first degree, rape first degree and sodomy first degree connected to a case from October 4, 2003.

Police say during that time, officers met with a juvenile victim that reported a sexual assault in the 1400 block of Lee Road 57.

The victim told police she was forced into a nearby wooded area and was subjected to multiple acts of sexual violence.

The case remained under investigation, with cold case investigators submitting evidence through the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences to the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System (CODIS).

In January 2024, Auburn police received the results that identified Pitts at the suspect.

The case was subsequently presented to a Lee County Grand Jury and Pitts was indicted on all three charges.

Pitts was taken into custody on Friday and is currently in the Lee County Detention Facility on no bond.