Overview
- Opening statements began in Middlesex Superior Court in Woburn as Gale pleaded not guilty to aggravated rape, kidnapping and armed robbery charges.
- Prosecutor Katharine Folger told jurors that DNA from a tissue one victim hid in a Hit or Miss bag links Gale to the assaults.
- Defense attorney Debra Dewitt urged jurors to question the reliability of decades-old evidence and emphasized the Commonwealth’s burden of proof.
- The first witness, Rae Williams, testified that the two victims reached her home seeking help after escaping the store.
- Investigators identified Gale in 2024 and arrested him in Los Angeles after an 82‑minute police chase, and they are reviewing whether other 1989 incidents could be connected as the judge signaled the trial may last several weeks.