Jury finds accused 'Pillowcase Rapist' Robert Koehler guilty
MIAMI - A Miami-Dade County jury on Wednesday convicted a man who was accused of being the "Pillowcase Rapist" during a cold case that was recently solved.
The jury found Robert Koehler, 63, guilty of raping a woman in northwest Miami-Dade in 1983.
Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle released the following statement on Wednesday afternoon:
"Today's jury verdict finding Robert Koehler guilty of sexual battery, kidnapping and burglary, finally closes the book on a terror that gripped the women of South Florida for far, far too long."
"With a DNA trail linking Koehler to at least 25 sexual batteries in Miami-Dade alone, the work of two generations of police officers and forensic scientists seems to have come to a just and final end. This community owes a debt of gratitude to the courage of our victim who had to look this man in the eye years after her own sexual assault and still had the strength to testify against him. The hard work of prosecutor Laura Adams deserves particular acclaim for her efforts in making this day and this verdict finally arrive."
Koehler, sitting in a wheelchair, showed no emotion as the court clerk read the jury's verdict.
The sentence for Koehler is expected to be handed down in a few weeks.
During the trial, prosecutors described a brutal sexual assault inside the victim's home.
"The thrill, the prosecutor said. "The power that this man must have derived from assaulting an innocent woman. Home. Just out of the shower. Completely vulnerable."
"What he wanted really wasn't sex. It was power, it was domination, it was humiliating and degrading a young woman," she added.
The defense said there was not enough evidence in the case.
During the trial, Koehler took the stand in his own defense, painting what could only be described as a bizarre picture of what he said happened. He claimed he was kidnapped and tortured by a group of police officers who he said planted his DNA on the woman.
"He said do not move from this position, the voice said at all or you will be shot dead where you stand," Koehler testified.
A woman who said she was sexually assaulted by the "Pillowcase Rapist" also took the stand. She described how she tried to get him out of her home.
"Because I knew if I didn't get him out of the house, my husband had just left for work, I would have been there all night. So I just kept saying you got to leave, he carries a gun, he's on his way here, he just finished work at eight, he's going to kill you. He carries a gun, you gotta leave, you gotta leave, you gotta leave," she told the jury.
Police say they were able to track Koehler down after collecting DNA from his son.
Koehler was arrested in 2020.
Authorities believe he committed multiple rapes in South Florida in the 1980s, using a pillowcase or other fabrics to cover the face of his victims. Sometimes, he would mask his own face with a pillowcase.
Koehler has maintained his innocence.
Last summer, the Broward sheriff's Cold Case Unit identified and charged Koehler in multiple sex assault cases.
He'll be brought to Broward next to face charges.