The man believed to be the “Wooded Rapist,” who has eluded capture for 14 years and is suspected in at least 13 rape cases in Davidson, Williamson and Wilson counties, is now in police custody.
Robert Jason Burdick, 38, of 314 Ash Grove Court in South Nashville, was arrested today while traveling eastbound on I-24 in Rutherford County. Rutherford County’s Interstate Interdiction Unit made the stop at the request of Metro & Brentwood detectives who received word shortly after 9 a.m. from the TBI Crime Laboratory that Burdick’s DNA matched biological samples recovered from many of the crime scenes. Burdick was turned over to investigators from Metro, Brentwood, Wilson County, and the TBI.
Burdick was brought to Metro police headquarters. He refused to answer questions and was booked into the Metro Jail at 1:30 p.m. where he is being held without bond pending an appearance in Criminal Court. A search warrant executed at Burdick’s home today has uncovered evidence linking him to the rape cases.
The “Wooded Rapist” has victimized a number of women between at least 1994 and February of this year. He most often would break into victims’ homes in the darkness. He was masked and was known to use pistols and cutting instruments as weapons.
The major break that led to the identification of Burdick as a suspect in the rape cases came during a traffic stop by Brentwood Police Officer Elliott Hamm on Meadowlake Road at 1:30 a.m. Monday. An alert citizen in the Meadowlake subdivision called 911 after seeing a suspicious person, dressed in black, wearing a mask, and carrying a flashlight. Officer Hamm stopped Burdick’s Jeep as it was leaving the area. Burdick claimed that he had been attending a party in the area and had to park on the street. Burdick refused Officer Hamm’s request to search the Jeep. Officer Hamm meticulously recorded Burdick’s information, allowed him to proceed, and then forwarded Burdick’s details to the Brentwood Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division. That stop prompted around-the- clock surveillance of Burdick by Metro and Brentwood detectives, who have been working very closely together on the Wooded Rapist cases since 1999.
Two years ago, the Davidson County Grand Jury returned a multi-count indictment against an individual known as “John Doe” with a specific scientific DNA profile. The indictment includes five counts of aggravated rape, one count of attempted aggravated rape, one count of attempted rape, one count of aggravated assault, and six counts of aggravated burglary. The “John Doe” designation on the indictment will now be replaced with the name Robert Jason Burdick.
The Davidson County indictment covers six separate cases, one from 1994; two from 1998; one from 1999; one from 2000; and one from 2005.
In the 1994 case, Burdick is accused of breaking into a home in the 5000 block of Franklin Pike and raping a 38-year-old woman in the early morning hours of March 1.
In the first 1998 case, Burdick is accused of breaking into a home on Otter Creek Road and raping a 22-year-old woman in the early morning hours of November 20.
In the second 1998 case, Burdick is accused of breaking into a home on Priest Road and attempting to rape a 36-year-old woman in the early morning hours of December 29.
In the 1999 case, Burdick is accused of breaking into a home on Reagan Run and raping a 45-year-old woman in the early morning hours of September 9.
In the 2000 case, Burdick is accused of breaking into a home on Tusculum Road and raping a 29-year-old woman in the early morning hours of February 18.
In the 2005 case, Burdick is accused of breaking into a home on Otter Creek Road and attempting to rape a 26-year-old woman in the early morning hours of June 28.
Although charges have not yet been placed in Williamson County, Burdick is suspected in at least three rape cases in Brentwood, two in 1999 and one in 2004.
In the first Brentwood case, a man broke into a home in the Mooreland Estates subdivision and raped a 48-year-old woman and her 16-year-old daughter on the evening of March 31, 1999.
In the second Brentwood case, a man broke into a home in the Foxland Hall subdivision and raped a 17-year-old girl in the early morning hours of November 2, 1999.
In the third Brentwood case, a man broke into a home in the Meadowlake subdivision and raped a 46-year-old woman on the afternoon of November 4, 2004.
Burdick is suspected in at least three additional Nashville rape cases: the August 10, 2006, attempted rape of a woman in the yard of her Otter Creek Road home; the December 27, 2006, home invasion and assault of a woman in her Otter Creek Road home; and the November 19, 2007, rape of a 61-year-old woman in her Fairbrook Drive home.
Although charges have not yet been placed in Wilson County, Burdick is suspected of being the man who raped a 16-year-old girl outside her home off Highway 109 in Mt. Juliet on February 1, 2008. That case is being investigated by the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office and the TBI.
Robert Jason Burdick is a principal in WB Technologies, a company located at 2201 Murfreesboro Pike that specializes in burglar alarm technology.
District Attorneys General Torry Johnson in Nashville, Kim Helper in Williamson County, and Tommy Thompson in Wilson County, are in discussions regarding additional charges and the prosecution of Burdick.
Robert Jason Burdick
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