After 10 years, the search for the Fairmount Park rapist continues. NBC10’s Nefertiti Jaquez shows how police are now bringing awareness to the decade-old case.
Nearly 10 years later, Philadelphia Police still have not found the man known as the Fairmount Park rapist.
This Tuesday will mark the decade-long search for the suspect responsible for three sexual assaults – including the rape and murder of a Philadelphia medical student.
Officers from the Special Victims Unit handed out flyers and talked with people about the case along Kelly Drive near Boathouse Row today in an effort to generate awareness and solicit tips.
Police say DNA evidence confirm the same man is responsible for three attacks which took place between April 30, 2003 and August 11, 2007. The man attacked women who were either jogging or walking.
On April 30, 2003, a 21-year-old woman was raped at knife-point while jogging on Kelly Drive and Fountain Green Drive, according to police.
On July 13, 2003, medical student Rebecca Park, 30, went jogging in West Fairmount Park. Police say she was raped and then strangled. Her body was found four days later, and DNA links her attacker to the April rape.
On August 11, 2007, a woman was raped near Frankford and Solly Avenues.
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“We believe, as many serial offenders do, that this male may strike again, not a matter of if, but when and where. We want to make sure the public is armed with the proper tools to prevent that from happening,” Captain John Darby said.
In another incident on October 25, 2003, a 37-year-old woman jogging on West River Drive was attacked at knife-point by a man whose description matches that of the suspect in the April attack. The injured woman escaped and was driven to a Lower Merion hospital by a passersby.
The suspect is described as a Hispanic man with a Latino accent and a muscular build. He is about 5-feet-8-inches tall, with a dark complexion, black hair, thin mustache and bushy eyebrows. In two of the attacks, he was wearing an earring on his left ear and fled away on a purple metallic 10-speed bike, according to police.
In the most recent attack, the suspect was wearing a mesh sleeveless basketball shirt and shorts that were light blue with white stripes on the shorts and white edging on the shirt. He was also wearing a gold chain with a crucifix pendant and had scars or marks on his upper left torso and arm.
Anyone who has information can call Philadelphia police at 215-685-3251 or 215-686-3335.
