DNA link key to prosecution's case in campus rape

4:32 p.m. update

A Washington County jury took about 30 minutes Tuesday afternoon to find Cesar Michael Figueroa, 24, of Springdale, guilty of raping a young woman Sept. 2, 2012, in a parking lot at the edge of the University of Arkansas campus.

12:09 p.m. update

The defense has now rested in the rape trial of Ceasar Michael Figueroa.

Figueroa, 24, is charged with two counts of rape in connection with the Sept. 2, 2012 assault of a woman in a parking lot on the edge of the University of Arkansas campus. Prosecutors say DNA ties Figueroa to the incident.

The jury is expected to hear closing arguments in the case this afternoon.

Original story

FAYETTEVILLE -- Prosecutors say Cesar Michael Figueroa, 24, left a bit of DNA on the shirt worn by a rape victim, tying him to the 2012 assault on the northeast edge of the University of Arkansas campus.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is not a crime scene drama, it's real life in Fayetteville, Arkansas," Amy Driver, a Washington County deputy prosecuting attorney told jurors Monday.

The 23-year-old victim testified Monday she was walking home from Dickson Street about midnight Sept. 2, 2012. She'd been to a Razorback football game that afternoon, then went out with friends for awhile. She called her roommate as she started the five minute walk home.

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DNA link key to prosecution's case in campus rape