Charges were approved Wednesday night for the arrest of Antonio Rodriguez, the alleged Kensington Strangler, for the murders of Elaine Goldberg, Nicole Piacentini and Casey Mahoney.
The 22-year-old alleged rapist and murderer would face a judge later in the night for charges including murder, rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and abuse of corpse, police said.
DNA links Rodriguez to the murders in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia.
During a Monday night press conference identifying Rodriguez, a 911 call came in saying that he was on the 3300 block of Mutter Street in Kensington. An officer investigating saw Rodriguez heading into the back of a house. The person of interest then fled on foot but was caught nearby, police said.
Rodriguez and two people inside the house were taken in for questioning.
Sources say that during the questioning, Rodriguez confessed to the December beating, rape and murder of Casey Mahoney and the November killings of Elaine Goldberg and Nicole Piacentini.
Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey said that he also confessed to other crimes.
"He spoke about others but we're not confident if those are actually homicides or just sexual assaults," said Ramsey.
Investigators in the Special Victims Unit are investigating those incidents.
Rodriguez is about 5-foot-9, 155 pounds with a large scar from his left ear to the middle of his throat with various tattoos including the name "Kiera" tattooed on his left arm and "Scorpio" tattooed on his right arm.
He is fluent in Spanish and English and has an arrest record. Rodriguez is homeless but frequented the Kensington area, police said.
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Many Kensington residents who have seen Rodriguez in the neighborhood were shocked by his arrest.
"I would talk to the guy right there on the corner and he always smiled at me," said Ruth Quinones. "He didn't seem like a murderer."
Police zeroed in on Rodriguez after State Police told Philly detectives that his DNA matched the Kensington attacks.
"I'm glad that he's no longer going to get to enjoy himself and that now he begins to suffer," said Joe Goldberg, the father of Elaine Goldberg. "I hope he suffers for a long time."
"I'm so happy... I'm just really really happy," said Nicole Piacentini's mother Christine after the arrest was made. "An officer notified me and told me they were gonna get warrants for his arrest that they knew where he was and were just waiting to pick him up."
While authorities are confident that they have their man, its still not a complete guarantee. It is unclear if the man seen in sketches who was believed to be the Kensington Strangler is Rodriguez.
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