Philadelphia Police plan to hold a news conference Wednesday morning about the frightening string of assaults on women in Kensington.
Since early October, two women have been murdered and six others attacked.
Pychologist Dr. Frank Farley of Temple University isn't directly working on the case, but says the so-called "Kensington Strangler" could be someone from the neighborhood.
"The strongest case here is that it's in a defined area, a very specific community and the victims seem to share certain qualities" said Dr. Farley.
Another woman was attacked on the 2600 block of Kensington Avenue early Monday morning, ramping up fears in the neighborhood of a serial strangler.
She told police she was choked, punched, sexually assaulted and hit in the head with a brick. She was able to get away and run for help.
This is the second woman who has given police enough information to put together a sketch of the suspect. The sketch from Monday's attack is strikingly similar to a sketch police sent out last month when another woman came forward, saying she survived an attack in early October where she was raped and choked.
The Kensington task force has connected two November murders by DNA and they believe the same man is connected to the first attack.
- Early October: Woman is raped and choked until she passes out in an empty lot on East Cumberland.
- November 3: Nursing student Elaine Goldberg's half-naked body is found in an empty lot on Ruth Street. She'd been raped and strangled.
- November 13: Nicole Piacentini's half-naked body is found in the same vacant lot on E. Cumberland, within a mile of Goldberg's murder. DNA links her murder to Goldberg's.
Now the task force is looking into these five attacks to see if they are also connected:
- October 31: Woman is sexually assaulted at Sergeant Street near Kensington.
- November 14 Woman claims she was raped and chocked on Flora Street
- November 28: Woman is sexually assaulted on Buckius Street.
- December 6: Woman is sexually assaulted, choked in alley on Kensington Avenue near Sergeant Street.
- December 7: Woman says she was raped in a pick up truck at Kensington and Allegheny Avenues and then throw out on the street.
If you have any information, you're urged to contact the Special Victims Unit at 215-685-3251 ext. 3265.
