A former conductor of the Albuquerque Philharmonic and traveling musical competition judge has been identified as the suspect in the sexual assaults of two women in Alabama decades ago and other violent attacks throughout the country.

The Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit on Thursday said DNA and genealogy research concluded that Elliott L. Higgins of Jemez Springs, New Mexico had been identified as the suspect in the sexual assault of a University of Alabama student in 1991 and the robbery and sexual assault of a Tuscaloosa real estate agent in 2001.

Higgins died in 2014 at the age of 73.

Investigators learned Higgins was a judge at the annual International Horn Competition which was hosted by the University of Alabama on the same year and week as the two Alabama assaults.

In 1991, a then-19-year-old student was returning to her off-campus apartment and was leaving her car when the man approached her, according to a 2006 article by Stephanie Taylor at The Tuscaloosa News.

The suspect held her at knifepoint, forced her back in the car and made her drive to a different location before he raped her.

He looked through her purse, found her identification, and threatened to find and harm her if she reported the assault.

He told the woman that he was a “happily married man” and a former employee of the university, Taylor reported.

Ten years later, a man called a real estate agency from a pay phone and asked to see a home. He assaulted the realtor at knifepoint and also stole her jewelry and a watch.

Investigators determined that the 1991 case and a 2004 case in El Paso County, Colorado were connected by DNA recovered from both crimes, said Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit Capt. Jack Kennedy.

But despite extensive investigations by both departments, they could not identify a viable suspect.

In October of 2021, working with the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, samples of the suspect’s DNA from the 1991 case were submitted to Parabon Labs for possible genetic genealogy research.

Parabon Labs were able to provide a possible suspect, Kennedy said, and subsequent investigation confirmed Higgins was the perpetrator of the crimes.

Kennedy said Higgins was a teacher of collegiate music, and his family also operated a youth music camp in Jimenez Springs, the Hummingbird Music Camp.

Higgins specialized in the French horn, and at one time was the conductor of the Albuquerque Philharmonic.

He had also served as the manager of the Santa Barbara Symphony in California and the Fort Wayne Indiana Philharmonic in Indiana.

A criminal record of sexual assaults committed by Higgins in the 1970s was located during the investigation, Kennedy said.

In 1976, Higgins helped found, and then participated as a judge, at the “International Horn Competition, which at different times was also called the “American Horn Competition.”

The competition was held at different universities across the U.S., and it was found to have been hosted by the University of Alabama on the same year and week as the two Tuscaloosa County sexual assaults in 1991 and 2001.

Kennedy said it was also confirmed through competition records that Higgins was present and a judge at both competitions in Tuscaloosa the years of the sexual assaults in question.

“Other than being in Tuscaloosa for the few days of the Horn Competitions, 10 years apart, Higgins had no connection to the Tuscaloosa area,’’ Kennedy said.

Composite drawings, modus operandi, victim identification, and other evidence showed Higgins was the perpetrator of the three sexual assaults.

“Additionally, subsequent DNA testing of Higgins biological relatives has now confirmed that Higgins is the suspect with probability greater than 99.999 percent,’’ Kennedy said.

It is suspected that Higgins may have committed similar violent assaults throughout his lifetime, and throughout the country.

Higgins – not yet identified at that point – was featured on an episode of “America’s Most Wanted” in 2006.

Producers nicknamed “the Wedding Dress Attacker” because he seems to target women selling wedding dresses through classified ads, according to the Tuscaloosa News.

All investigative information has been shared with all police jurisdictions where the horn competitions were held, as well as forwarded to the FBI, Kennedy said.

“Numerous investigators, in different departments, have worked diligently on this case for over 20 years,’’ Kennedy said.

“Due to their hard work, the professional standards of the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, and the utilization of new technology, this suspect has finally been identified.”

“Although this subject is now deceased, by identifying him, we hope to bring closure to his known victims,” Kennedy said, “and encourage any other persons who may have been a victim of Higgins to contact the appropriate police jurisdiction.”