Massachusetts fugitive dubbed ‘rapist with bad breath’ arrested in California after 17 years on the run – Boston News, Weather, Sports

A Massachusetts fugitive nicknamed the “Bad Breath Rapist” was arrested in California on Tuesday, 17 years after he fled during his 2007 trial for breaking into a co-worker’s home and raping her in 2005, police said.

Tuen Lee was arrested in Diablo, California, by Danville police after he left a home and got into a car with a woman, according to a statement from Massachusetts State Police. He initially gave police a false name but then confessed when police asked him his real identity, police said.

On February 2, 2005, Lee broke into a co-worker’s home in Quincy and raped her before investigators quickly identified and arrested him, police said. He was identified by his DNA and “terrible breath,” earning him the nickname “Bad Breath Rapist,” police said.

His case was heard in Norfolk Superior Court and the jury returned a guilty verdict after two days of deliberations, police said. However, Lee left the state and was on the run for years.

The Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section’s Metro Team and Quincy Police Department detectives spent “hundreds of hours” trying to find Lee, police said.

Earlier this year, investigators linked Lee to an address in Diablo, California – a multimillion-dollar home owned by a flower shop owner, police said. Investigators also found images on social media of a man they believed to be Lee.

When officers arrested Lee on Tuesday, his identity was confirmed through his fingerprints, police said.

“Despite their 15-year relationship in California, his partner never knew who he really was,” the police statement said.

Lee is being held in California before being transferred to Massachusetts.

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