Crime & Public Safety
DNA from restaurant fork leads to arrest in 27-year-old North Naples assault case
Collier County investigators say DNA collected from a restaurant fork in Arizona helped identify a suspect in a North Naples assault case that remained unresolved for 27 years.
The case began on June 2, 1999, after a woman returned to her North Naples apartment from a Bonita Springs club. The Collier County Sheriff’s Office said an unknown man attacked her after she arrived home. A hospital examination produced forensic evidence, but detectives did not identify a suspect and the DNA profile did not match anyone in the national law-enforcement database.
In August 2025, the sheriff’s office submitted the preserved evidence for forensic genetic genealogy analysis. A report received in February identified family connections that narrowed the investigation to two people, including Terry Lynn Denton, 71. Detectives located Denton in Glendale, Arizona, with assistance from the FBI.
Agents collected items Denton left after dining at a restaurant, including a metal fork. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement reported on June 18 that DNA from the fork matched evidence from the 1999 case. Investigators later obtained a warrant for a direct DNA sample, and the state laboratory reported a second match in July.
The sheriff’s office said records placed Denton less than a mile from the woman in 1999, despite his initial denial that he lived in Collier County at the time. Detectives obtained an arrest warrant and tracked him to Sarasota County, where a fugitive unit took him into custody. Denton was booked into the Sarasota County Jail pending transfer to Collier County and faces an assault-related battery allegation.
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