BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. — A 13-year-old cold case has been solved after advances in DNA technology led investigators to a man now living in metro Atlanta.
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Broward Sheriff’s Office says a man identified as Jose Bello, 39, of Flowery Branch, has been arrested in connection with an attempted sexual battery of an incapacitated woman that occurred in January 2013 in Dania Beach, Fla.
Investigators say the incident happened during an event known as ‘Igloo South Florida’ near the 2600 block of Southwest 31st Street. The victim reported that she became incapacitated while attending the event and later woke up inside an unknown vehicle with two unidentified men. She told detectives her pants had been pulled down, and one of the individuals had left behind DNA evidence on her.
Despite extensive efforts at the time, investigators were unable to identify a suspect and the case eventually went cold.
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That changed in November 2025, when the BSO Special Victims Unit reopened the investigation. Using updated forensic technology, analysts ran the preserved DNA evidence through the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), which returned a match to Bello.
Detectives later met with the victim and presented her with a photo lineup, where she identified Bello as someone who looked familiar to her, even more than a decade after the incident.
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Further investigation led authorities to Hall County, where Bello was located. Working alongside the Hall County Sheriff’s Office, Broward detectives obtained a DNA warrant and traveled to Georgia to interview him. A DNA sample collected from Bello was submitted for testing and confirmed the original CODIS match.
On May 5, Bello was arrested. He now faces a charge of attempted sexual battery of an incapacitated victim and is expected to be extradited to Broward County to face prosecution.
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