Palmer man arrested for series of sexual assaults

ANCHORAGE -- A Palmer man suspected of raping three women in Anchorage in 1999 and 2003 was arrested Thursday morning, according to the Anchorage Police Department.

Colby James Griffeth, 52, allegedly preyed on women as they left downtown Anchorage bars late at night, offering them rides and then taking them to secluded locations such as Ship Creek and Arctic Valley and sexually assaulting them at knifepoint.

Griffeth is suspected of committing one rape in 1999, attempting another that same year and committing two in 2003.

During the summer of 2003, APD Special Victim Unit Detective Ken McCoy was working on an unsolved sexual assault case and submitted his evidence to the state crime lab for analysis. In June, the lab called him back to report the DNA evidence he submitted matched evidence from two other unsolved sexual assault cases.

McCoy began researching the other two cases, cross-referencing vehicle descriptions and suspect descriptions, all of which led him out to the Valley and to Griffeth, McCoy said in a phone interview Friday morning.

McCoy obtained a warrant to collect DNA from Griffeth and sent the sample to the state crime lab for analysis against all three cases. The DNA sample taken from Griffeth was a match, and with that information McCoy applied for an arrest warrant.

APD worked with Alaska State Troopers, the Wasilla Police Department and the Palmer Police Department to arrest Griffeth Thursday morning at Quality Moving Service in Palmer. Griffeth was the operations manager for the moving service.

Griffeth was charged with three counts of first-degree sexual assault and one count of first-degree attempted sexual assault. He was taken to the Anchorage Correctional Facility East and his bail was set at $100,000.

McCoy said Griffeth may be involved in other unsolved sexual assault cases and his investigation is continuing.

Griffeth lived in Hawaii for two years prior to 1999, and law enforcement agencies there have been contacted about the investigation.

There is evidence being collected, McCoy said, that may corroborate other victims' claims and reveal an even broader pattern of sexual assault by Griffeth. Investigators have already been able to link Griffeth to an attempted rape in 1999, after the victim identified him in a lineup. Three of his victims were Native women; one was Hispanic.

"When we see a person this prolific in their criminal activity, we always suspect there are other cases," McCoy said. "I don't believe he just stopped committing these crimes between 1999 and 2003; I believe he had more victims."

Contact John Davidson at john.davidson@frontiersman.com.