In just one short lifetime, Mark Rathbun has been arrested, held
or charged on 73 felonies in two states.
He has been found guilty of 67 felonies, predominately crimes against women.
Provided he and behaves himself in prison, and that further
advancements in DNA technology don’t link him to other unsolved crime scenes,
we can expect Mr. Mark Rathbun to be a free man after 1136 years plus ten life
terms, or sometime around 3864.
11/22/98
Mark Rathbun sexual assault at 3:00 a.m.. Victim’s age 32. DNA evidence found. Police had Jeff Grant in custody and did not attribute the crime to the Belmont Shore Rapist.
11/22/98
Mark Rathbun was subsequently charged with having on this date committed the crime of Forcible Oral Copulation and Forcible Rape on the person of Jane Z. Doe # 5. Detective Mike Holguin later testified that this victim lived alone with her cat on Mariquita Street. Mark Rathbun seemed to treat the attack more as a date than an act of violence. Holguin testified that Rathbun woke the woman from her sleep. He stroked her hair, told her she was pretty, “cuddled” with her for 30 minutes and then said he wanted to “make love” to her. After Mark Rathbun raped her five times, he cuddled her again for another two hours. Then he apologized. When he left, mark Rathbun said, “I'll give you 10 minutes, and do what you have to do.” Forensic serologist Thomas Fedor would testify that an analysis of the victim’s breast swab indicated a mixed DNA sample but that it could also be linked to Mark Rathbun and that the chances it belonged to someone else was one in 9 septillion.
Circa 1999
Mark Rathbun report to his mother that he had begun attending Our Lady of Refuge in Long Beach.
3/29/99
Mark Rathbun nonsexual attack on this date at 12:52 a.m. Victim’s age 32.
5/99
Seattle Detective Harper contacted Detective Holguin of the Long Beach Police Department. Long Beach was investigating a series of approximately 15 sexual assaults and/or occupied burglaries.
7/99
Mark Rathbun resided at 1538 E 3rd Street in Long Beach CA 90802.
8/4/99
Mark Rathbun sexual attack this date at 2:00 a.m. The victim was age 77. She was raped in her Belmont Heights home, but didn't report the crime until she was raped a second time 17 days later on August 21st.
8/4/99
Mark Rathbun was subsequently charged with having on this date committed the crime of Forcible Rape against the person of Jane Z. Doe # 6. He was found not guilty. John Patrick Bockrath, a senior criminalist at the L.A. County crime lab, would testify that the DNA profile developed from sperm cells found on a rug in the victim’s home matched Rathbun’s and that chances of another man having that same genetic structure was one in more than several trillion. At trial, Detective Randi Castillo testified that the woman had survived cancer 22 years before and had a colostomy bag as a result. Mark Rathbun woke her from her sleep on a living-room chair, led her into her bedroom and pulled her nightgown over her head. He noticed the bag, asked what it was, and then proceeded to rape her after she told him. The woman did not initially report the crime because she was scared. But when the man came back a second time three weeks later and raped her again, she called police.
8/21/99
Mark Rathbun sexual attack, 12:49 a.m., victim’s age 77 (second rape of Doe # 6).
8/21/99
Mark Rathbun was subsequently charged with having committed on this date the crime of Forcible Rape and Sexual Penetration by a Foreign Object against the person of Jane Z. Doe # 6.
1/00
The California State Crime Laboratory matched DNA from six of the Long Beach assaults to a single suspect. They also matched the DNA to that recovered at the second Seattle assault case.
2/29/00
In Seattle, the court’s Judicial Notice was returned from the Post Office as unable to forward the Notice of Motion to Mark Rathbun. He failed to appear at a hearing on 3/7/00 and the charge was dismissed on the city’s motion.
4/2/00
Mark Rathbun sexual attack on this date at 1:23 a.m. Thie victim was age 76. DNA evidence found.
4/2/00
Mark Rathbun was subsequently charged with having on this date committed the crime of Forcible Rape and Forcible Oral Copulation against the person of Jane Z. Doe # 7.
6/11/00
Mark Rathbun sexual assault on this date at 1:10 a.m.. Victim’s age 51, DNA found (victim was a resident of Huntington Beach).
6/11/00
Mark Rathbun was subsequently charged with having on this date committed the crime of Forcible Rape and two counts of Forcible Oral Copulation against Jane Z. Doe # 8. (Police had initially identified the Huntington Beach victim as age 51, but the victim was actually age 61 at time of incident. Rathbun was found not guilty of Forcible Oral Copulation charges.)
Huntington Beach Police Officer David Roberts testified about the incident that occurred in the 100 block of Huntington Street. He said the rapist covered the 61-year-old victim's face with a nightshirt and that her complaints of pain were largely ignored. “The suspect made some comments as to her feeling good,” Roberts said.
01/01
Mark Rathbun is believed to have been residing on the block of Elm Street in Long Beach with his mother and aunt.
12/30/01
Mark Rathbun sexual assault on this date at 2:00 a.m. Victim’s age 50.
2002
Later this year police will describe Mark Rathbun as a drifter who was often seen bicycling through Belmont Shore. His mother will describe him as unemployed. He sometimes worked with an unnamed friend on odd jobs. He refused to cut his hair to get other work.
1/27/02
Mark Rathbun sexual assault on this date at 11:00 p.m. Victim’s age 60.
