Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
Serial Rapist in Miami Linked by DNA to Seven Attacks
Aired June 18, 2003 - 07:05 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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: In this country now in Florida, Miami police are linking a seventh attack to a single serial rapist. Six of those cases have been connected, police say, by DNA evidence. Police also saying the seventh case is linked by similarity to the other six attacks.
Authorities in Miami right now handing out flyers of the sketch that's been made of the suspect. Two of the seven assaults were on girls who were home alone after school.
Lieutenant Bill Schwartz of the city's police department is back with us here on AMERICAN MORNING to tell us what residents there need to know.
Sir, good morning to you. Thanks for coming back.
There is a report that says now you're looking at cases back in the year 2000, about two-and-a-half maybe three years ago. What's happening there?
LT. BILL SCHWARTZ, MIAMI POLICE: When we realized we had a serial child rapist, we started looking at any and all old cases, and some cases had some striking similarities, and some cases we were able to link through DNA. But we have a total of seven cases. And at this particular time, six of those have been linked by DNA.
HEMMER: Do you believe the suspect, the man, you're pursuing now is responsible for rapes, cases that took place three years ago?
SCHWARTZ: Very possibly. We're talking to detectives. We're picking their memories, and some of them say they think they remember some old cases that might very possibly could be related. So, we're going back and checking those cases again. We're also checking burglary cases, because this guy is a burglar. He either breaks into your house or he uses some sort of ruse to get into the house, whether he needs to use the phone, get a glass of water, maybe he wants to rent a room. So, we're checking any and all cases that could be possibly related.
HEMMER: Yes, it's an interesting answer, because yesterday your police chief, John Timody (ph), said he's never seen a case like this where the victims range from the ages of 79 all the way as young as 11. What more can you say about this man's M.O. that police -- people, rather, in your community need to be on the lookout for?
SCHWARTZ: Well, that's a 100-percent correct. We have an 11- year-old, we have a 12-year-old, a 13-year-old. Then he jumps up to 21 years old, a 55-year-old, a 77-year-old, 79 years old. This is extremely unusual. So, it makes us hard for us to draw a composite of his personality, a profile, if you will.
But we're just trying to tell the community to be very, very vigilant, and to remind them that someone out there knows who this guy is. You know, you go through different stages when you're involved in an investigation of this nature. At first, you keep a clinical distance on the whole thing, and then you feel fear, fear for the community, fear for your family perhaps. And then you feel anger.
The other night I met the youngest victim, an 11-year-old, and I was then reminded just how fragile and small an 11-year-old can be. So, we're trying to tell people, who may know who this guy is, if anger doesn't motivate you to come forward and let us know who this guy is, perhaps greed will, because there is an award out there for $10,000. So, we're hoping someone who knows something, and someone does know something, will come forward.
HEMMER: Good luck. Let's hope money talks. Lieutenant Bill Schwarz in Miami, thank you.
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 June 18, 2003 - 07:05 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: In this country now in Florida, Miami police are linking a seventh attack to a single serial rapist. Six of those cases have been connected, police say, by DNA evidence. Police also saying the seventh case is linked by similarity to the other six attacks.
Authorities in Miami right now handing out flyers of the sketch that's been made of the suspect. Two of the seven assaults were on girls who were home alone after school.
Lieutenant Bill Schwartz of the city's police department is back with us here on AMERICAN MORNING to tell us what residents there need to know.
Sir, good morning to you. Thanks for coming back.
There is a report that says now you're looking at cases back in the year 2000, about two-and-a-half maybe three years ago. What's happening there?
LT. BILL SCHWARTZ, MIAMI POLICE: When we realized we had a serial child rapist, we started looking at any and all old cases, and some cases had some striking similarities, and some cases we were able to link through DNA. But we have a total of seven cases. And at this particular time, six of those have been linked by DNA.
HEMMER: Do you believe the suspect, the man, you're pursuing now is responsible for rapes, cases that took place three years ago?
SCHWARTZ: Very possibly. We're talking to detectives. We're picking their memories, and some of them say they think they remember some old cases that might very possibly could be related. So, we're going back and checking those cases again. We're also checking burglary cases, because this guy is a burglar. He either breaks into your house or he uses some sort of ruse to get into the house, whether he needs to use the phone, get a glass of water, maybe he wants to rent a room. So, we're checking any and all cases that could be possibly related.
HEMMER: Yes, it's an interesting answer, because yesterday your police chief, John Timody (ph), said he's never seen a case like this where the victims range from the ages of 79 all the way as young as 11. What more can you say about this man's M.O. that police -- people, rather, in your community need to be on the lookout for?
SCHWARTZ: Well, that's a 100-percent correct. We have an 11- year-old, we have a 12-year-old, a 13-year-old. Then he jumps up to 21 years old, a 55-year-old, a 77-year-old, 79 years old. This is extremely unusual. So, it makes us hard for us to draw a composite of his personality, a profile, if you will.
But we're just trying to tell the community to be very, very vigilant, and to remind them that someone out there knows who this guy is. You know, you go through different stages when you're involved in an investigation of this nature. At first, you keep a clinical distance on the whole thing, and then you feel fear, fear for the community, fear for your family perhaps. And then you feel anger.
The other night I met the youngest victim, an 11-year-old, and I was then reminded just how fragile and small an 11-year-old can be. So, we're trying to tell people, who may know who this guy is, if anger doesn't motivate you to come forward and let us know who this guy is, perhaps greed will, because there is an award out there for $10,000. So, we're hoping someone who knows something, and someone does know something, will come forward.
HEMMER: Good luck. Let's hope money talks. Lieutenant Bill Schwarz in Miami, thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
