At about 6 a.m. March 13, 1986, a 48-year-old white woman, identified as H.T., arrived at work at the Forbes Health Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. When she entered the lunchroom, a Black man grabbed her, locked the lunchroom door, forced her to the floor and raped her.
Ora Jean Bolte, who was a laundry department worker there, tried to enter the lunchroom as the attack occurred. She pounded on the locked door for several minutes until the attacker unlocked the door, pushed past Bolte and fled. Bolte and another co-worker, Chuck Novak, chased the man, but gave up after several blocks.
The Pittsburgh Police Department received a call at approximately 6:15 a.m. reporting the rape. H.T. said her assailant was between five feet, five inches and five feet, nine inches tall, with a medium complexion, short hair, and wearing a gray shirt, beige jacket, blue jeans and tennis shoes. She said she had hit her assailant on the head with a cup, breaking the cup.
Fifty minutes later, another woman reported an indecent assault five blocks away from the hospital. The victim described her assailant as a Black man, five feet, six inches tall with close cut hair and wearing a beige or light brown jacket. She also said that her assailant had something running down the side of his face.
Detectives Herman Wolf and Ellen Blacksmith from Pittsburgh police sex assault squad were assigned to investigate the rape of H.T. Wolf was aware that two years earlier, in 1984, 27-year-old Thomas Doswell had been charged with rape. Doswell had been acquitted of that rape and would later assert that Detective Wolf, after the acquittal, threatened to “get him.”
Before interviewing H.T., Detective Wolf assembled a photo array of eight suspects to show H.T., including a photo of Doswell. Doswell’s photo contained the letter “R” above the date on the photo, in a different font and color than the other writing on the photo and clearly visible. None of the other photos contained the letter “R,” which stood for rape. That designation was not disclosed to the defense.
At approximately 9:15 a.m., Wolf interviewed H.T. at Shadyside Hospital. She said that her assailant had “some kind of whisker growth on his face.” Shown the photographic lineup, she identified Doswell.
Detective Wolf then interviewed Bolte at Forbes Hospital. She viewed the photo lineup and also selected Doswell. Novack, who had chased the assailant for several blocks, said he never saw the man’s face.
That afternoon, Doswell was arrested at the home of Sheila Lowry, his girlfriend. A police report of the arrest said that Doswell answered the door in his boxer shorts and looked like he had just gotten out of bed. The officer examined Doswell’s head for any cuts, bruises, bumps or other marks, and found none.
At the police station, Doswell at first told Detective Wolf that he had spent the night at his mother's house, in the company of his girlfriend, and other family members, but then changed his story to say that he actually was at Lowry's house the entire time, with his son, from 9 p.m. the night before. No photograph was taken of Doswell’s head at the time of his arrest.
Doswell was charged with rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, terroristic threats and unlawful restraint.
Prior to trial, Doswell's attorney, Carl Marcus made a motion before Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas Judge David Cercone to suppress the eyewitness identification on the grounds that the photo array was suggestive, and that the suggestive photo array tainted the subsequent witness identification at the preliminary hearing.
Judge Cercone denied the motion. He ruled that the photo lineup was not suggestive, in that the photos depicted individuals of basically the same age, race, hairstyle and facial features, the number of photos shown was sufficient, and that the “R” on Doswell's photo was not unduly suggestive.
On November 19, 1986, Doswell went to trial. H.T. and Bolte identified him as the rapist. Detective Wolf testified that Doswell had a mark on his forehead at the time of his arrest, was recently shaven and that Doswell changed part of his alibi during interrogation. Detective Wolf also said that a neck brace Doswell was wearing at his preliminary hearing appeared new, although the officer who arrested Doswell said Doswell was wearing a neck brace at the time and had been seen wearing it prior to his arrest.
On November 24, 1986, a jury convicted Doswell of rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, terroristic threats and unlawful restraint. He was sentenced to 13 to 26 years in prison. The conviction and sentence were affirmed on appeal.
Over the next nearly two decades, Doswell was denied parole on four occasions because he refused to admit that he committed the crime.
In 1996, Doswell wrote to the Innocence Project seeking help in obtaining DNA testing. In 1999, Doswell filed his own motion for DNA testing. Judge David Cercone denied the motion, saying it was filed three weeks too late.
In December 2004, the Innocence Project and local counsel James DePasquale filed a motion seeking DNA testing. On May 4, 2005, Judge John Zottola ordered DNA testing on the sexual assault kit taken from H.T. as well as on a reference sample obtained from Doswell. In July 2005, DNA testing excluded Doswell as the source of the biological evidence in the rape kit.
On July 25, 2005, Doswell’s convictions were vacated. On August 1, 2005, the charges were dismissed and Doswell was released.
While in prison, Doswell learned to read and write music and to play seven instruments. After his exoneration, Doswell favored gospel and R&B music. In 2008, he was on the stage of Heinz Hall in Pittsburgh, opening for B.B. King. He also performed with the rock band Pearl Jam as a guest musician.
In 2010, the City of Pittsburgh agreed to pay $3.8 million to settle a wrongful conviction lawsuit brought by Doswell against Detective Wolf and the Pittsburgh police department
In 2012, Doswell was charged with illegally possessing a firearm, drug possession and tampering with evidence after he was pulled over by a police officer who discovered marijuana, crack cocaine and a stun gun in his car. A .38-caliber revolver was found outside his passenger-side window. Doswell pled guilty and in January 2013, he was sentenced to 11 1/2 to 23 months in prison.
Doswell died of heart failure on Christmas Day 2015. He was 56 years old.
– Maurice Possley
Posting Date: 08-29-2011
Last Update Date: 01-16-2026
