Police issue warning, new sketch in 4 rapes

Police yesterday released a new composite drawing of the Fairmount Park rapist, the man thought to have killed one woman in 2003 and assaulted three others, and warned that he may be still around.

"We've got better weather," said Capt. John Darby of the Special Victims Unit. "We want people to know they are potential witnesses, but also that they are potential victims."

On July 13, 2003, the attacker raped and strangled Rebecca Park, 30, a fourth-year medical student at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Her battered body was found in a shallow grave covered with leaves about 30 feet from a trail near Conshohocken Avenue. She was found clothed in only a sports bra and running shoes, police said.

After raping two other women that year, the killer disappeared for four years and reemerged almost a year ago when his DNA was linked to an Aug. 11, 2007, rape of a 29-year-old woman in Pennypack Park in Northeast Philadelphia.

All the victims were alone at the time of their assaults.

Police have described the attacker as a muscular, dark-complected male with a short jawline, a goatee, and bushy eyebrows. Yesterday, they gave more details that came from the victim in the 2007 attack.

"Her attacker wore a blue basketball outfit, a mesh top, and shorts with white piping," said Darby. "The complainant recalls a gold rope chain with a . . . cross. [The victim] also recalled that [the attacker] had [distinctive markings] on the shoulder and several on the chest. These were raised possible scars, burns, or stabbing discolorations of the skin."

On two occasions, Darby said, the man wore a hoop earring in his left ear.

The suspect is likely to come off as an everyday person with no striking traits, Darby said. "He could be someone's son, a spouse."

According to Darby, the attacker may have a Jekyll-and-Hyde personality. He said that the attacker consoled one or two of the victims after the attacks. The attacker also talked of his family in Puerto Rico.

Darby said there was a $5,500 reward and asked anyone with a lead to call 215-686-8477 (215-686-TIPS).

Police have linked DNA to three of the cases. Working with the FBI, police have flooded neighborhoods, especially the local Hispanic community, with leaflets. They have also reached out to Puerto Rico.

Darby denied that police were stumped.

"We're not frustrated," he said. "We are driven. . . . Not a day goes by that we are not looking, but we want to impress that these cases won't be solved without the public's help."

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