WOODBRIDGE, Va. – The Prince William County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office said a 38-year-old cold case involving the abduction and rape of a local gas station clerk has finally been solved—thanks to cutting-edge DNA technology and years of relentless police work.
On August 21, a jury convicted Russell Marubbio, 54, of Florida, for the brutal 1987 assault that took place at a Chevron station on Jefferson Davis Highway in Woodbridge. Prosecutors say this marks the first time in U.S. legal history that rare “somatic mutations” in identical twins’ DNA were used to distinguish and convict one twin.
Detectives Giannina Pinedo and Colleen Grantham reopened the case in 2019 and teamed up with multiple labs—including Parabon NanoLabs and Marshall University’s Forensic Science Center—to track down the assailant using advanced forensic techniques. After decades without answers, their work led to a breakthrough that identified Marubbio as the perpetrator.
The trial judge revoked Marubbio’s bond immediately following the conviction. He is now in custody awaiting sentencing, scheduled for November 7.
Here’s the full press release:
Prince William County Commonwealth’s Attorney Amy Ashworth announces the successful prosecution of Russell Marubbio, 54, of Putnam County, Florida, for a violent abduction and rape that occurred on December 19, 1987, at a Chevron gas station in Prince William County. On August 21, 2025, a Prince William County jury convicted Marubbio of both charges. Marubbio was arrested on June 23, 2023 and released on bond over the objection of the prosecutor by substitute Judge Dennis Smith. Upon conviction, Marubbio’s bond was revoked and he was remanded to the custody of the Sheriff. Sentencing is set for November 7, 2025, before the Honorable Kimberly A. Irving who presided over the trial.
On December 19th, 1987, the victim, a 50-year-old woman, was working as a clerk at the Chevron gas station located at 13452 Jefferson Davis Highway, Woodbridge VA. The victim went to use the restroom which was located outside of the building. After she entered the bathroom, a white male entered the bathroom with a knife, taped her head and hands and raped her. The police were called to investigate, and a PERK (Physical Evidence Recovery Kit) was collected from the victim at Potomac Hospital by Dr. Rodolfo Lopez on December 20, 1987. The assailant was unknown to the victim. The PERK was eventually submitted to the Department of Forensic Science (DFS) and a male DNA profile was developed; however, no match for the DNA was found. The case was cold.
In 2019, Master Detective Giannina Pinedo, a veteran investigator with 22 years of experience in violent crimes, transferred to the Cold Case Unit and began re-examining unsolved cases using advanced forensic science and investigative techniques. She enlisted the help of Master Detective Colleen Grantham, who has 23 years of experience specializing in sexual assaults, and together they reopened this case. With the cooperation of the victim, Detectives Pinedo and Grantham worked tirelessly to identify the man responsible for these crimes.
Prince William County Police Chief Peter Newsham prioritized cold case investigations and dedicated the necessary resources and personnel to assist in this investigation. The Detectives worked closely with PWC Police Crime Scene Investigator Andrea Feldman who resubmitted items of physical evidence that were seized in 1987 to the Virginia Department of Forensic Science (DFS) for modern DNA testing to see if additional leads could be developed. DFS was able to develop a male DNA profile from the kit.
Additionally, the Detectives sent another item of evidence (cuttings of stains from the victim’s underwear) to Marshall University Forensic Science Center to extract information for genetic genealogy analysis. The analysis results came back to twins, John Arthur Marubbio of Deltona, FL, and Russell Anthony Marubbio of Palatka, FL. The Detectives were then able to obtain buccal swabs from both brothers with the assistance of Florida Special Agents to compare their individual DNA to the profile developed from the evidence. Their individual DNA matched the DNA on the items seized at the time of the crime, however, could not differentiate between the two identical twins.
In August 2022, with Chief Newsham’s support, Detectives turned to the advanced DNA analysis services of Parabon NanoLabs and its laboratory partners to resolve a rare case involving identical twin suspects. Parabon provided a solution: while identical twins start with the same DNA, rare “somatic mutations” can arise after the twins split in early development, creating subtle genetic differences between them. Using deep whole genome sequencing and specialized bioinformatics analysis, Parabon identified unique somatic mutations in each twin and compared them directly to the DNA recovered from the crime scene.
This analysis conclusively identified Russell Marubbio as the twin whose DNA was present at the crime scene. The results were admitted as evidence in court, leading to Marubbio’s arrest and conviction. This landmark case marks the first successful admission and application of this technique in a U.S. court, overcoming challenges that have long prevented DNA identification of identical twins.
The forensic DNA extraction work was conducted by the Marshall University Forensic Science Center (West Virginia). Microarray genotyping for genetic genealogy was performed by Psomagen, Inc. (Maryland). Whole genome sequencing was carried out by Intermountain Forensics (Utah, now DNA Labs International) and Astrea Forensics (California).
Commonwealth’s Attorney Amy Ashworth offered the following comment:
“This conviction demonstrates the commitment of both our office and the Prince William County Police Department to ensuring that, no matter how much time has passed, we will fight together to seek justice for victims. My thanks to Detectives Pineda and Grantham for re-examining this case and never giving up despite all of the difficulties that arose in the course of this investigation. This was a thirty-eight-year-old rape case that had long been forgotten about by everyone except the victim who has had to live with the fear and pain of having been raped, and without any closure on this case until now. Deputy Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Stephanie Buck, Senior Assistants Roshni Dhillon and Megan Anglin deserve tremendous credit and acclaim in having guided the investigation, spending countless hours researching how to admit the evidence, and presenting the case to a jury who ultimately believed the victim’s version of what occurred that night in 1987.”The Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney wishes to recognize the following individuals and organizations for their assistance:
Virgina Department of Forensic Science:
Lori Prugh, current forensic scientist (2019)
Amy Wong, forensic scientist (1988)
Private Labs:
Astrea Forensics: Dr. Cristina Valencia
Intermountain Forensic (IMF), which has been recently acquired from DNA Labs International (DLI): Derek Culter (now with Resolve Forensics), Jodie Perkins (now DLI)
Marshall University Forensic Science Center
Parabon NanoLabs: Dr. Janet Cady
Psomagen, Inc.
Prosecution Team: Senior Assistant Meagan Anglin, Deputy Stephanie Buck, Senior Assistant Roshni Dhillon, and former Deputy Regan Kline
Victim Witness Coordinator: Deputy Director Sara Vutiprichar
Prince William County Police Department (includes 1987 investigators to present):
Evidence Technician Theresa Farrell
Crime Scene Investigator Andrea Feldman
Master Detective Colleen Grantham
Officer Linda Hudson
Officer Janet Mattes
Detective William Metheny
Master Detective Giannina Pinedo
Officer G.D. “Bobby” Williams
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