0 TPD: Evidence and Google led to serial rapist suspect

TULSA, Okla. - Tulsa's mayor says citizens can heave a collective sigh of relief -- a serial rapist has been caught.



Police said 30-year-old Desmond Campbell is in custody, currently in a Tulsa hospital after a car crash on Sunday.



Police said a Google search of an accident helped them find Campbell in Saint Francis.



TPD canceled the task force set up to catch the person responsible for seven sexual assaults and returned the officers to regular duty.



“As in all cases of serious crime, any possible evidence is examined in the Tulsa police lab, and then often is forwarded to OSBI for additional examination. As a result of these examinations, Desmond Campbell was identified as a possible suspect,” said Police Chief Chuck Jordan.



Jordan said it was the Google search that told them Campbell had been in a serious car accident on I-44 near Sheridan.



“The vehicle Campbell was driving struck a light pole at a considerable speed. As a result, Campbell was transported to a local hospital where he still remains in critical condition and is unresponsive,” said Jordan.



The chilling part is that police said he had just left his seventh and final victim.



“The accident occurred at 5:45 a.m. Sunday, 10 minutes after a sexual assault was reported at 1200 S. 75th Ave. at 5:35,” said Jordan.

That was three and a half weeks after he allegedly claimed his first victim on June 5.



Police said Campbell was just released from prison on April 21.



If he ever wakes up, he could be facing a very long list of charges that could put him back in prison for a very long time.



“Variety of different charges for different victims. Some were not rapes. Some were sexual batteries, some were first-degree burglaries, you know, so there’s a whole myriad of charges. Some will be attached to some victims and not others,” said Jordan.



But for now, a collective sigh of relief for the victims and all of Tulsa.



“Obviously we are very happy we can tell our public that we think the person that committed these acts is not a threat to them anymore,” said Jordan.



Police said Campbell has major head injuries and he may never regain consciousness.



While it was not a tip that helped police catch him, police say those hundreds of tips are helping them solve several unrelated crimes.



