State rests case against 'Pillowcase rapist,' trial resumes Monday
MIAMI - The state has rested its case in the trial of a man accused of being the "pillowcase rapist."
In court Friday, a Miami-Dade jury learned how Robert Koehler's DNA was linked to the crimes.
They also heard from investigators who followed Koehler around in hopes of obtaining some of his DNA for testing.
Koehler is believed to have attacked dozens of South Florida women in the early 1980s.
He was arrested back in 2020.
The trial resumes Monday at 10 a.m., when the defense will state its case.
Koehler will be brought to Broward to face the charges against him, once the cases against him in Miami-Dade are adjudicated.
Broward authorities said, "The investigation shows that Koehler carried out his attacks with diabolical precision. On at least eight occasions in 1984 and 1985, detectives believe Koehler snuck into homes in Broward County late at night or in the wee hours of the morning through unlocked doors and attacked his victims while they slept or prepared for bed. He sometimes covered the heads of his victims or his own head, sometimes with pillowcases, and threatened to kill them or their family members before raping and robbing them. The cases received extensive media attention when they occurred and a task force of law enforcement across South Florida was created to investigate the crimes. However, despite intensive work by detectives at the time of the attacks, the trail of the Pillowcase Rapist went cold. Technological advances in DNA testing and relentless work by detectives led to the identification of Koehler as the attacker."
