Tulsa Woman's Rape-Kit Went Untested For 7 Years

A Tulsa woman speaks out after she said her rape kit sat on a shelf at TPD, untested for seven years, waiting for Oklahoma City Police to come and pick it up.

Coni (last name withheld) told News On 6 Oklahoma City police told her last year the case had been dismissed, and that there was no rape kit. Now, OKCPD said the case was mishandled.

$1.5M Grant To Help TPD With Untested Rape Kits 

Coni said what started out as a fun night at a 2011 Christmas party at an Oklahoma City bar, quickly turned into a blur.

"It was just really warm, fun and funny, and everyone was having a good time," she said.

Coni said she doesn't remember everything that happened, but people who were at the party told her a bouncer followed her into the women's bathroom.

"I happened to be getting all my drinks from one side of the bar, which he was serving drinks," she recalled.

She said another woman walked in on the rape but thought the sex was consensual.

Coni said she woke up the next morning in pain, but unaware of what happened.

"I could not understand why it felt like I was hit by a Mack truck," she said.

Someone eventually called Coni's fiance and told him.

Since Coni was living in Tulsa at the time, she had a rape kit done at a hospital here.

She said T-P-D assured her Oklahoma City Police would get the kit and investigate the assault, but in a December 2017 e-mail from OKC police, Coni was told her rape kit couldn't be found.

"It was like my fire changed," she said. "My determination changed."

Coni said she wasn't interviewed by Oklahoma City police until today (Jan. 2, 2019).

Major Jason Clifton told News On 6 that when he reviewed the case, he realized it wasn't handled appropriately in 2011.

Clifton said the rape kit will be tested immediately, and an internal investigation is underway to find out what went wrong.         

Coni hopes police departments will do a better job in the future, by keeping victims in the loop about their cases.

"It may appear that it's easy for me to sit here," she said. "But I feel like it's easy because I know I'm speaking for someone else. I have the strength of a million voices. And I'm just trying to give them one."

Coni said she doesn't know what happened to the man who raped her, but she hopes he's held accountable for what he did.