"That's a lot of hits. A lot of unsolvable cold cases are being solved," he said.

Gov. M. Jodi Rell, who joined Lee and several other police and forensic science authorities at a news conference Thursday, said Mitchell's arrest illustrates the importance of emerging technology in solving rapes, murders and other cold cases.

This year, she has proposed global-positioning system tracking for sex offenders, lifetime mandatory address registration and mandatory minimum 25-year sentences for people convicted of certain sex crimes against children.

"This case gives us hope that more and more of the cold cases we hear about so often and read about so often will be solved," Rell said.