Second survivor tells of attack near site of Kensington killings

A second woman who survived an attack in Kensington has come forth, providing police with yet another account of an assailant who may have struck at least four times, killing two victims.

Police have not linked the attacks but are looking into the possibility they are connected. The latest woman to come forward said she was assaulted in late October by a man who choked her until she lost consciousness.

The attack took place in a lot near Kensington Avenue and Sergeant Street, near the scene of another assault in early October. In that case, the woman also survived and has provided police with a description of her attacker.

In both instances, the women said they went willingly with their attacker. Both said they were choked. The first survivor told police she was sexually assaulted.

Police have said they have no evidence linking either assault to the deaths of two women who were found strangled in Kensington this month. But they have acknowledged that the killings and attacks could be related because of the similar circumstances.

Elaine Goldberg, a 21-year-old nursing student at Gwynedd-Mercy College, was found Nov. 3 in a lot on the 2800 block of Ruth Street. Goldberg was found less than a mile from where 35-year-old Nicole Piacentini's body was found Nov. 13. Piacentini, a mother of four, was found behind a building on the 1900 block of East Cumberland Street.

Both women's bodies were partially clothed and showed signs of sexual contact, but police have not determined whether it was consensual.

The woman who was attacked in early October told police the assault took place in the same lot where Piacentini's body was found.

The neighborhood where the attacks took place is known to police and local residents as a high-traffic area for drug dealing and prostitution. Since the attacks began, police have asked people to stay out of the area unless they live or have "legitimate business" there.

The attacker was described by the surviving victims as a slender, light-skinned African American or Latino man in his late 20s. He stands between 5-foot-6 and 5-foot-10, has a mark on his cheek and a goatee. At one point, he was described as wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt and blue denim cargo pants.

Anyone with information is asked to call 215-685-3334 or 911.

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