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CNN Live Saturday
Suspected Miami Area Serial Rapist Captured Today
Aired September 20, 2003 - 18:15 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: A Honduran native whom police say is in this country illegally is in custody in Miami today. He's accused of terrorizing Miami's Shenendoah neighborhood as a serial rapist. Our Miami bureau chief, John Zarrella, is live now with more details on the suspects arrest.
John, what was his first mistake?
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN MIAMI BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Carol, apparently what happened was that, last night, in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood, police were patrolling the neighborhood and they saw a suspicious car stopping and starting at a couple of alleyways. They pulled the car over, questioned the man, and then they arrested him.
He has been identified as 32-year-old Reynaldo Elias Rapalo. He is a Honduran native here on an expired visa. Police say that he did not resist arrest and that he voluntarily consented to a DNA swab. And after that swab was taken, then taken to the laboratory for analysis, and police say it matched the DNA samples taken from the other crime scenes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF JOHN TIMONEY, MIAMI POLICE: The bottom line is there is now a DNA match, a fingerprint match, and an eyewitness identification of this individual. And so right now he is under arrest.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZARRELLA: Miami's chief prosecutor says that she has absolutely no doubt that this is the man, and that she will go after the maximum sentence she can.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KATHERINE FERNANDEZ RUNDLE, STATE ATTORNEY: We believe this is the person that has done these horrible acts. He will go through the course and we will respect the law. And he will tried in the courts of law according to due process. But when he is convicted -- and I have every reason to believe that he will be -- he will receive the maximum sentence that I can ask the courts to give this person under the law. And as far as I understand it, it is life.
The death penalty does not apply to this capital case. There's one capital crime out of all of these. The death penalty no longer applies because the legislature eliminated (UNINTELLIGIBLE) penalty. Life sentence does, and today life means life, and that's exactly what this individual, if he's proven under the law to have committed these horrible acts, will get.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZARRELLA: Now, Miami Police say they believe he is responsible for at least eight rapes and attempted rates. And that the latest one apparently occurred about two weeks ago. A man by the name of Juan Rodriguez came to the aid of his sister-in-law. His sister-in-law, he says, was being attacked, he came to her aid, got in a scuffle with the suspect, ended up with bite marks on his hand. And when police did a DNA analysis of the bite marks on Juan Rodriguez' hand -- you can see it there -- it matched the DNA from the other crime scenes.
So that was one more link, the latest link. And now, of course, Miami, people in Miami and Shenendoah neighborhood very relieved that apparently police are very, very confident that they have the serial rapist. Formal charges have not yet been filed. We expect that he may make his first court appearance either tomorrow or Monday. And at that point, of course, we will keep you up to date with the latest news as the case continues to develop -- Carol.
LIN: That's exactly the break that police needed in this case. Thanks so much. John Zarrella reporting live in Miami.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired September 20, 2003 - 18:15 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: A Honduran native whom police say is in this country illegally is in custody in Miami today. He's accused of terrorizing Miami's Shenendoah neighborhood as a serial rapist. Our Miami bureau chief, John Zarrella, is live now with more details on the suspects arrest.
John, what was his first mistake?
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN MIAMI BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Carol, apparently what happened was that, last night, in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood, police were patrolling the neighborhood and they saw a suspicious car stopping and starting at a couple of alleyways. They pulled the car over, questioned the man, and then they arrested him.
He has been identified as 32-year-old Reynaldo Elias Rapalo. He is a Honduran native here on an expired visa. Police say that he did not resist arrest and that he voluntarily consented to a DNA swab. And after that swab was taken, then taken to the laboratory for analysis, and police say it matched the DNA samples taken from the other crime scenes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF JOHN TIMONEY, MIAMI POLICE: The bottom line is there is now a DNA match, a fingerprint match, and an eyewitness identification of this individual. And so right now he is under arrest.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZARRELLA: Miami's chief prosecutor says that she has absolutely no doubt that this is the man, and that she will go after the maximum sentence she can.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KATHERINE FERNANDEZ RUNDLE, STATE ATTORNEY: We believe this is the person that has done these horrible acts. He will go through the course and we will respect the law. And he will tried in the courts of law according to due process. But when he is convicted -- and I have every reason to believe that he will be -- he will receive the maximum sentence that I can ask the courts to give this person under the law. And as far as I understand it, it is life.
The death penalty does not apply to this capital case. There's one capital crime out of all of these. The death penalty no longer applies because the legislature eliminated (UNINTELLIGIBLE) penalty. Life sentence does, and today life means life, and that's exactly what this individual, if he's proven under the law to have committed these horrible acts, will get.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZARRELLA: Now, Miami Police say they believe he is responsible for at least eight rapes and attempted rates. And that the latest one apparently occurred about two weeks ago. A man by the name of Juan Rodriguez came to the aid of his sister-in-law. His sister-in-law, he says, was being attacked, he came to her aid, got in a scuffle with the suspect, ended up with bite marks on his hand. And when police did a DNA analysis of the bite marks on Juan Rodriguez' hand -- you can see it there -- it matched the DNA from the other crime scenes.
So that was one more link, the latest link. And now, of course, Miami, people in Miami and Shenendoah neighborhood very relieved that apparently police are very, very confident that they have the serial rapist. Formal charges have not yet been filed. We expect that he may make his first court appearance either tomorrow or Monday. And at that point, of course, we will keep you up to date with the latest news as the case continues to develop -- Carol.
LIN: That's exactly the break that police needed in this case. Thanks so much. John Zarrella reporting live in Miami.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
