Decades later, DNA leads to Parkville man’s conviction for 2 Baltimore County rapes

The sexual assaults in Cockeysville happened exactly four years apart in the 1980s.

Each time, the perpetrator broke into a first-floor apartment, threatened to kill a woman and then raped her. The assaults were separated by only a half mile. And for decades, they went unsolved.

In 2023, Baltimore County Police identified a suspect. And DNA testing later confirmed that he was the assailant.

On Monday, a jury found James Shipe Sr., 73, of Parkville, guilty of all charges in Baltimore County Circuit Court, including rape, sex offenses and burglary.

“Time marches on. Times catches up to us all eventually,” Assistant State’s Attorney John Magee said in his closing argument. “It took much longer than we had hoped, but time caught up to James Shipe.”

Circuit Judge Garret Glennon Jr. almost immediately ordered Shipe to serve two consecutive life sentences, adding his own twist to a well-known legal maxim.

“Today,” Glennon said, “justice delayed is simply justice delayed.”

Shipe raped one of the women on Windy Cliff Place on Sept. 13, 1982. He raped the other woman on Barretts Delight Drive on Sept. 13, 1986.

They both went to the Greater Baltimore Medical Center, where Dr. Rudiger Breitenecker between 1977 and 1997 preserved biological material collected from survivors on slides in more than 2,000 cases.

Shipe was originally charged in five rapes between 1978 and 1986, but two of the women later died. Prosecutors dropped charges in another case after a judge denied their request for a postponement.

Both women, whom The Banner is not naming because they are survivors of sexual assault, spoke at sentencing. And 10 of the jurors who convicted Sipe stayed to watch the court proceedings.

“We are strong, resilient women — and we have persevered,” one of the women said.

The other woman said the verdict does not erase what happened to her. But she said the truth has finally been recognized.

“After 40 years and one day, this has absolutely been a miracle in my life,” she said.

Shipe’s attorney, Joe Pappafotis, asked the judge to consider his client’s health conditions as well as the effect of continued imprisonment on family members.

During his incarceration, Shipe underwent surgery for an aortic valve replacement, Pappafotis said.

At trial, Pappafotis said there was no question that a crime took place. But he contended his client was not the attacker.

When Shipe was given the opportunity to address the court, he paused for a moment and consulted with his attorney. He then declined to make a statement.