BOSTON — Police investigating a 42-year-old cold case in Boston after announcing the arrest of an Alabama man on murder and rape charges from 1980, police said on Thursday.
Steven Fike, 62, was arrested Wednesday by Boston Police detectives and charged with rape and first-degree murder in the killing of 19-year-old Wendy Dansereau.
Fike is currently incarcerated in Alabama for a 1982 rape and murder for which he is currently eligible for parole. When a sample of DNA was collected during the early stages of the Dansereau investigation it ultimately matched Fike’s genetic profile.
Dansereau was raped and murdered in a Boston hotel room on March 19, 1980, two years prior to the Alabama murder according to Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins.
“Ms. Dansereau’s family has waited nearly four decades to know what happened to her,” District Attorney Rollins said. “Today, we have not only the advances in forensic testing necessary to identify her killer, but a team of dedicated professionals – including Boston Police Detective Jack Cronin and SCDAO Civilian Investigator Emily Wood – who have worked to find answers for Ms. Dansereau’s loved ones, especially her daughter, who was only four weeks old at the time of her mother’s death and has waited her entire life for accountability.”
An employee of the Hotel Diplomat in the South End discovered Dansereau’s body inside a hotel room after being sexually assaulted and strangled.
Fike is expected to be arraigned in Suffolk Superior Court, but no date has been set yet.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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