Within the world of devoted French-horn players in the U.S., Elliott Higgins was a pioneering figure.
As a young hornist in the 1970s, he helped launch the first French-horn soloist competition in America, inspired by the performances of European players.
Earlier this month, investigators in Tuscaloosa, Ala., said that Mr. Higgins, who died in 2014 at 73 years old, was responsible for something far darker. According to law enforcement, DNA evidence, new genetic genealogy research and additional police work showed that the distinguished horn instructor was a serial rapist with a trail of crimes across the country. The evidence, they said, linked him to at least three unsolved violent sexual assaults of women, crimes that had vexed investigators in Alabama and Colorado for decades. Subsequent genetic testing of Mr. Higgins’s surviving relatives indicated that he was the attacker in the crimes where DNA evidence was collected with a probability of greater than 99.99%, police said.
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His adult daughter, Amber Higgins, said she was in total disbelief when an investigator told her of the findings. She said she was filled with rage, sadness and humiliation, and wanted to be helpful to law enforcement so that victims might have some closure.
