Search For Karina Vetrano's Killer Continues More Than 4 Months Later
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The person who murdered jogger Karina Vetrano in a Queens park this past summer remains at large months later, and police on Wednesday released some advisements in hopes of finding the assailant.
Vetrano, 30, was murdered while running through Spring Creek Park in Howard Beach on Aug. 2. Police said she was strangled and possibly sexually assaulted. Her father along with authorities found her body hours after she didn't return home from her jog.
Vetrano's killer remains at large more than four months later, and police advised the public to note the importance of some information and characteristics they have gleaned about the assailant.
• The killer is likely familiar with the park and might have spent time there for any number of reasons. The park is used by fishermen, dirt bike riders, environmentalists and other outdoor enthusiasts, and some parts of it are also a gathering place for recreational drug and alcohol users.
• The assailant might have been frequenting the park for days, weeks or months before the attack and was likely a familiar face to those who come to the park on a regular basis.
• After the attack, the assailant might have stopped visiting or living in the park abruptly. He may have moved his recreational activities or residence to another part of the borough or city, and he may have provided a seemingly reasonable excuse to do so to those he knew. He might even have suggested his avoidance of the park was due to the danger there, police said.
• In the hours after the attack on Vetrano, anyone who saw him might have observed that he looked disheveled and might have had scratches or cuts to his hands, arms, neck or face. It might have appeared that he was in a fight or accident, and he might have given any of a variety of excuses for his appearance.
• The man also might have noticeably changed his level of drug, alcohol or tobacco uses after Vetrano's slaying, and he might have paid careful attention to news reports on the attack. He might have taken steps to limit his exposure to the news, and he might have changed his appearance, police said. The changes may have been noticed by someone close to the assailant, and he might have casually dismissed them with or without explanation.
In late August, a sketch was released of a man who was seen near the location of the attack. The man remains unidentified and may have witnessed something without realizing its importance, police said.
Police called Vetrano a "young, vibrant woman" and said she had recently begun working as a speech pathologist for autistic children when she was killed.
The NYPD received numerous tips in the case, but it remains unsolved.