Man charged with murder after DNA links him to 1999 cold case

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A Bronx man was charged with the 1999 rape and murder of a 56 - year-old woman who lived in his building — after new DNA evidence linked him to the brutal slaying, police sources said.

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A Bronx man was charged with the 1999 rape and murder of a 56-year-old woman who lived in his building — after new DNA evidence linked him to the brutal slaying, police sources said.

Curtis Batchelor, 41, was arrested Monday afternoon in the May 27, 1999 killing of Elsa Grullon. Her son-in-law, who was also superintendent of the building at 825 Gerard Ave., found her bleeding from her head with numerous stab wounds inside her fifth-floor apartment, sources said.

Police reopened the cold case last March after new evidence surfaced. DNA, taken from Grullon's vagina, matched Bachelor's DNA, sources said. He was charged with second-degree murder, rape, assault and criminal possession of a weapon.

He has 16 prior arrests, including for forgery and criminal possession of stolen property