Community Meeting Held In Queens To Discuss Search For Jogger's Killer
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A Queens community gathered with elected officials Monday to discuss the search for the killer of a 30-year-old jogger last week.
The meeting on Karina Vetrano's death was held Monday night at St. Helen Catholic Church, at 157-10 83rd St. in Howard Beach.
Vetrano was strangled and possibly sexually assaulted last Tuesday after she left for a run in the Spring Creek federal park land near the Belt Parkway, police said.
The meeting was held with the intention of providing comfort and some answers to a deeply shaken neighborhood.
"I hope they catch this killer quick so we can go back to normal lives again, and not be afraid to go out with my husband or my children," one woman said at the meeting.
As WCBS 880's Stephanie Colombini reported, hundreds of residents packed into the church. Dozens more stood outside to listen, 1010 WINS' Al Jones reported.
NYPD Chief of Queens South Detectives Michael Kemper said there has been an increased police presence in Howard Beach since Vetrano's murder.
He said police have not come up with any suspects yet, which begged many people to ask, are we safe?
"Certainly I would recommend using caution," Kemper said.
Local civic leader Joann Ariola said more needs to be done to secure Spring Creek Park.
"Until it is a cleaned out, well-patrolled park, no one should be allowed up there," Ariola said.
Also at the meeting, an attendee asked the NYPD if Vetrano's death could be related to another slaying this past weekend. The body of Vanessa Marcotte, 27, of New York City was found in Princeton, Massachusetts after she too went jogging this past Saturday.
"We don't believe there's a connection," Kemper said. "With that said, we are going to continue to share notes and compare evidence as both cases progress."
Earlier Monday, as CBS2's Hazel Sanchez reported, Vetrano's father and mother were back at the crime scene with NYPD detectives, hoping police were closer to solving the murder.
It was Vetrano's father, Philip, who went into the woods and found her body, police said. He was helping officers search for his daughter after he became concerned when she didn't answer his calls.
A day after her daughter's funeral, Cathy Vetrano issued a warning for the killer at a news conference on Sunday.
"The whole entire world knows what a pathetic, puny, weak piece of filth that you are," she said.
Cathy Vetrano said the offender would get comeuppance.
"You know that my daughter was a force to be reckoned with, and I guarantee you – I guarantee you, you mother***er, that you will be reckoning with that force not only for the rest of your pathetic life, but for the rest of eternity."
The family on Sunday also expressed a great deal of thanks to the police for their tireless work on the case.
"Myself and my family owe everything to the NYPD, we can only ever hope to bring justice to my daughter Karina through their hard work," the victim's father, Philip Vetrano, said.
Police have been working around the clock at Spring Creek federal park where Karina Vetrano's body was found late this past Tuesday night.
"Overwhelming – it's just a heartbreaking situation," said family friend Judy Hintze.
Hintze said the entire community is hurting, but wants to help in any way they could. So Hintze launched a campaign on Facebook to help feed police information on the case.
"The community came together, and everybody donated. They all dropped it off by my house, and everybody pulled together," Hintze said.
City Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-32nd) said there are more police squads patrolling Howard Beach now than ever before. The presence brought comfort to residents while Vetrano's killer remained on the loose.
But Ulrich said the National Park Service needs to make the marshland where Vetrano's body was found – overrun with towering weeds – safer for the community.
"I think this was a wakeup call, definitely, for the federal government, that they need to get their act together, and need to cut down these weeds and figure out what the purpose of these weeds really is," Ulrich said.
Last week, the weeds shielded an attacker's vicious crime. But Cathy Vetrano said the killer's days of freedom are numbered.
"Soon, we're going to have a face to the d**kless piece of garbage that you are," she said.
Police have said they are desperate for tips from the public that could help them find a suspect. Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said last week that they think her murder was random, adding "we believe there's a severe community threat."
A $10,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest.
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782), visit www.nypdcrimestoppers.com or text tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.