DNA Evidence Leads to Arrest in 2007 Rape

A 27-year-old Whitefish man has been arrested on suspicion of a 2007 rape after DNA evidence collected from a similar, more recent crime in Conrad matched evidence in a crime database.

Whitefish police arrested Timothy M. House last Friday as he reported for a breath test required by a Pondera County court as part of the terms of his release.

Police Chief Bill Dial says House was a suspect in the 2007 sexual assault in Whitefish, but there was not enough evidence to obtain a warrant for a DNA sample. DNA evidence from the rape was entered into a national database.

Late last year, House was suspected in a Conrad rape. DNA from that case matched the 2007 Whitefish case, giving Whitefish police grounds to obtain a DNA sample from House.