Philadelphia Serial Strangler? Surviving Victim Helps Cops with Sketch

By: Caroline Black
Topics: Daily Blotter

Police: Strangulation Deaths in Philadelphia May Be Connected, Surviving Victim Provides Sketch

Composite Sketch of Suspect (Philadelphia Police Dept.)

PHILADELPHIA (CBS/AP) Police say a man who sexually assaulted and strangled a woman until she lay unconscious last month may be responsible for the recent strangulation deaths of two women in the same part of northeastern Philadelphia.

Police hope that the description provided by the surviving victim of the Kensington attacks who came forward Monday may help lead them to the alleged killer.

Earlier this week, police interviewed the woman who claims she was assaulted, strangled, and left to die in early October, but for reasons unknown never reported the incident to authorities.

According to The Philadelphia Daily News, the woman describes her attacker as a black or Latino man in his late 20s or early 30s, between 5 feet 8 and 6 feet, with a goatee and a short-style haircut.

Because there is no physical or forensic evidence linking the crimes, Homicide Lt. Norman Davenport stopped short of saying that there was a strangler on the loose or that the cases are connected.

However, all occurred within a four-block radius and all involved manual strangulation, reports The Philadelphia Daily News.

Sharon Malinksi, who has lived in the area for 35 years, said prostitutes stand at the corner, even when school is letting out.

"They don't care," she told The Philadelphia Daily News. "My husband said, 'What's it going to take? Somebody getting killed.' And it did."

The body of 35-year-old Nicole Piacentini of Port Richmond was found Saturday afternoon in the rear of an abandoned building in Kensington. Ten days earlier, on November 3, the body of 21-year-old nursing student Elaine Goldberg was found in a trash-strewn lot about a half-mile away.

Both women were found partially clothed and it is believed that both had sexual encounters with the assailant, but it is unclear whether those encounters were forced or consensual, says The Philadelphia Daily News.

The families of both the victims hope that the circulation of the photo generates some leads and ultimately, ends with an arrest.

"I just want the guy to get caught," Nicole's mother, Christine Piacentini, told The Philadelphia Daily News. "It won't bring my daughter back, but I don't want this to happen to anybody else."

Anyone with information about the killer's identity is urged to call Homicide Detectives at 215-686- 3334.

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by starrubmless December 4, 2010 11:08 PM EST: ****!! yall need to find this man he is killin too many people.. yall worried about guns, and drugs on the streets and this situation is worse! yall need to let the k-9 dogs sniff the victims so they can have his scent i wish somebody would just find him already! yall are acting like its not a big problem.. just imagine if it was one of yall wifes or kids getting straggled to death.. this is not cool at all, yall need to do the job right this man has been out for too lone.. the places he be is kensington and allegheny, frankford and lehigh, erie and torsdale, frankford and buckius... he all around kensington!!! one of my friends seen the victim before around frankford and legigh and she called the cops and she saaid she passed through there to see if the re were any cops and she said they wasnt out there.... so lets keep this thing seriouis and find this *****! all need to have cops patrol the neighborhood and pull people over that looks suspicious!! i am scared for my life now not knowing will i wake up tomorrow seeing my fAmily and friends... PLEASE CATCH HIM!!; Reply to this comment


by Wildwood1966 November 18, 2010 11:07 AM EST: get the scumbag; Reply to this comment


by WordsOfWisdom27 November 18, 2010 4:48 AM EST: Very nice sketch, it needs to be circulated as much as possible, and I pray he gets caught!!!; Reply to this comment