A special task force has been working around the clock to track down the Kensington Strangler. At 11:00 a.m., police will be holding a news conference on the 1900 block of Cumberland Street in Kensington where one of the victims' bodies was found last month.
Today we expect to learn new details on the search and get a reminder from police that catching this killer will take the eyes and ears of everyone.
They will also urge anyone with information to call 911, or use the following phone numbers:
- Homicide Unit: 215-686-3335 or 215-686-3336
- Special Victims: 215-685-3251
The suspect is described as a black man in his early 20s standing about 5'7" to 5'10" tall and 170 pounds, who walks with a distinctive gait, favoring his left foot. He has also been described as having long sideburns and listens to an iPod.
Police released a composite sketch of the killer. They also want to talk to the man captured on surveillance video, which was also distributed to the public.
Police: Flier wrongly accuses Philly man in deaths
This comes as a Philadelphia man fearing vigilantes had to call police for help after someone falsely posted his picture on fliers naming him as the suspect in the string of strangling deaths.
Philadelphia police say someone distributed fliers bearing the man's name, address and photo in the city's Kensington neighborhood, identifying him as the suspected Kensington Strangler.
The flier found its way to Facebook, where it was posted on a group called "Catch the Kensington Strangler, before he catches someone you love."
Police say whoever distributed the fliers could face charges if caught.
Three possible victims
It was just last week that police said a third woman appears to have become a victim of the 'Strangler.'
Autopsy results on 27-year-old Casey Mahoney, of East Stroudsburg, were released on Thursday.
According to police, Mahoney was nude from the waist down, was strangled and appeared to have been sexually assaulted, as were the other two victims.
Mahoney was found dead in a wooded area near a set of train tracks on the 100 block of East Tusculum on Wednesday night. The area, police say, is known to be used by drug users.
Mahoney is the mother of a young child. Police say she was a known drug user and believe she was in the Kensington area seeking a fix when she ended up in the hands of the Kensington strangler.
Monroe County records show that Mahoney made a court appearance there back on Monday to answer pending DUI charges. By Wednesday, she was dead in Philadelphia.
Mahoney's body was found blocks from where the two earlier victims, Elaine Goldberg, 21, and Nicole Piacentini, 35, were discovered last month. DNA evidence has determined that those two killings are linked.
At least three other women have reported being attacked by a man who choked, sexually assaulted or hit them, police said.
Meanwhile, the family of Elaine Goldberg announced Friday that they've increased a reward for information in this case to $4,000.
