A former Shelby County resident has been arrested and charged with the rape of a disabled woman in 2009, the Alabama Attorney General Office has announced.
Michael Francis Marullo, 36, of Utah, on Jan. 25 surrendered to the Shelby County Sheriff's Office, according to a statement issued Thursday night by Attorney General Luther Strange. Marullo is charged with first-degree rape.
The charge stems from a Shelby County Grand jury indictment. Special Agents of Attorney General Strange's Cold Case Unit presented evidence to the panel on Dec. 13. The indictment charges Marullo with the rape, on August 1 or 2, 2009, of a woman who was physically helpless or mentally incapacitated, according to Strange's statement.
No other information about the alleged crime was released. If convicted, Marullo faces a maximum penalty of 10 years to life imprisonment for the class A felony.
The Cold Case Unit is a project within the Attorney General's Office, in partnership with the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, to investigate violent sexual crimes that previously had been closed due to lack of investigative leads, according to the statement.
The Shelby County Sheriff's Office also was involved in the investigation. The Shelby County District Attorney's Office will prosecute the case.