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Grand Juries Hear 'Wooded Rapist' Case

Man Accused Of Raping Women In 3 Counties

POSTED: 12:34 pm CDT May 12, 2008
UPDATED: 5:51 pm CDT May 12, 2008

The case against a man accused of raping women in three counties moved ahead on Monday.

Video: 'Wooded Rapist' Evidence Presented To Grand Juries

A Williamson County grand jury met to determine if there is enough evidence for the case against Robert Jason Burdick to go to trial.

Burdick is the man police have accused of being the "wooded rapist."

Brentwood detectives presented the court with evidence from three attacks in which Burdick is accused in Williamson County.

Burdick is also accused of attacking at least nine other women in Davidson and Wilson counties.

Some people have questioned how the Brentwood detectives obtained some of the evidence they are using against Burdick. Brentwood investigators said they secretly planted a GPS tracking device on Burdick's car, which helped to arrest him.

The legality of the GPS planting method and whether or not it will become a factor as the case develops has been discussed.

Police did not have a court order or search warrant to use the device, but Brentwood Police Chief Ricky Watson said "everything we did was above board and legal."

Defense attorney David Raybin said he believes the absence of a warrant ultimately jeopardizes the case.

District Attorney Kim Helper disagreed.

"It’s not an issue that I’m concerned about. I would expect that it likely will be raised and litigated as appropriate during any court proceedings, but I am not concerned about the outcome of that issue," said Helper.

It was not clear if any of Burdick’s accusers were present in court in Franklin on Monday.

A grand jury in Wilson County also heard evidence against Burdick on Monday.

Wilson County Detective Jeff Johnson was expected to describe the night early this year when a 16-year-old girl was ambushed by a man wearing a mask.

Authorities said the girl was just getting home from a night out with friends in February and the attacker was waiting for her. While the girl’s mother and stepfather were just feet away, she was raped in her driveway, police said.

Burdick has been named as a suspect in the attack.

Authorities believe that the 16-year-old's rape was the latest in a string of rapes that has gone on since the "wooded rapist" first struck in 1994 on Franklin Pike.

Burdick is suspected in eight other Davidson County attacks from 1998 through 2007 and is also set to be arraigned in Davidson County this week.


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