NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The turnaround time to test a sexual assault kit in Tennessee can take months to even a year.
It was a sexual assault kit from 2021 that just recently linked the Memphis man accused of killing Eliza Fletcher to another rape and kidnapping.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is filling more positions to help with turnaround time on hundreds of rape kits in its three crime labs.
That's so offenders don't walk free to offend again.
"We have victim-survivors who reach out to us and say, 'What about mine? I was raped a year ago and I still have not heard back.' And so hopefully this just shows the urgency that these need to be done," said Lorraine McGuire, vice president of development and marketing at the Sexual Assault Center.
The Sexual Assault Center in Nashville has been helping victims since 1978 through resources like counseling, changes in legislation and even offering sexual assault exams.
"It takes a lot of courage for somebody who has been sexually assaulted to come forward to go through the difficult process of getting a rape kit done to report to the police and tell your story over and over again to strangers," McGuire said.
Following the kidnapping and murder of Fletcher, many are wondering whether her murder could have been prevented.
The man accused of killing Fletcher was also charged last week in a kidnapping and rape case that happened last September. The rape kit in that case had been sitting on the shelf — waiting to be tested.
"It is an escalating thing, and it happens more than once, which is why it is so important that these kits are run because it increases the chances of getting them off the streets, which in this case would have saved Eliza Fletcher’s life," said McGuire.
The TBI's Crime lab in Jackson is so backed up that there's nearly a year-long wait to process rape kits.
As of last month, there were more than 340 kits waiting to be processed.
The Knoxville lab has 374 kits with a turnaround time of 10 months.
And in Nashville, victims are having to wait nearly six months to get their kits tested.
The TBI is trying to hire 40 people to help process these kits faster.
"I do hope that we can honor the life of Eliza by making a change for the thousands and thousands of other rape victims 35 that we see and sexual assault centers all across the state see every year," McGuire said.
In the most recent budget cycle, the TBI requested 40 Special Agent/Forensic Scientist (SA/FS) positions to be added to the Forensic Services Division, which operates the state’s three crime laboratories.
A spokesperson said they were granted funding for half of those positions.
Although funding for the positions only became available on July 1, the TBI started the hiring process in May.
The anticipated start date for these new employees is Oct. 31.
