DNA match leads to arrest of DeKalb youth coach in 2008 cold case

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - A Lithonia man who coaches youth baseball has been denied bond in a cold case where he is accused of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl in 2008. 

Timeline:

Elzie Fulks, 44, was indicted by a DeKalb County grand jury in November 2025 for rape and two counts of aggravated sodomy in connection with the attack that happened in July 2008.

Fulks was arrested on Jan. 16. At a hearing held on Mar. 4, DeKalb County Superior Court Judge LaTisha Dear Jackson denied Fulks' bond. He is currently held at the DeKalb County Jail. 

What we know:

The victim told investigators she was walking to a MARTA station when a man driving a dark Ford Explorer pulled over and offered her a ride. The man, later identified as Fulks, drove the girl to a house where he assaulted her, according to prosecutors.

After the alleged assault, Fulks dropped the victim off near a MARTA station. When the girl got home, she told a family member what happened, and they called 911.

The girl was then taken to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Hughes Spalding, where she underwent a sexual assault examination.

Agents with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation tested the victim's sexual assault kit, which matched to Fulks in the FBI's Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) in 2018.

Initially, the case was reported in Fulton County, but it was transferred to DeKalb County in 2024 after investigators reviewed the facts and circumstances. 

What we don't know:

Officials did not provide further information on why the case was cold for a decade. 

What's next:

The DeKalb County District Attorney's Sexual Assault Kit Initiative Unit will prosecute this case.

"I am proud of the diligent work of all our Georgia Sexual Assault Kit Initiative partners who continue to ensure cases that may have previously slipped through the cracks are prosecuted," said District Attorney Sherry Boston. "It is critical that these survivors get their day in court and that the offenders are held responsible, no matter how much time has passed."