On December 20, 2023, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office announced that they had arrested 46-year-old Elias Diaz for the rape and murder of Rebecca Park as well as three other sexual assaults in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was active between 2003 and 2007, and he became known as the Fairmont Park Rapist.
The first victim was a 21-year-old woman who was attacked in Fairmount Park while out for a jog on April 30, 2003. She had been attacked by an unknown man riding a purple bicycle.
The second victim was 30-year-old Rebecca Park who went missing on July 13, 2003, while jogging in the park. Her remains were discovered four days later in the woods; she had been sexually assaulted and strangled to death. She was a medical student.
On October 25, 2003, there was a third victim. She was a 37-year-old woman who was also attacked while jogging in the park. She fought the attacker off as he attempted to drag her into the woods. She provided a description of the suspect to a police sketch artist.
The fourth victim was a 25-year-old woman who attacked on August 11, 2007.
DNA from a single suspect linked all four victims, but there were no hits in CODIS. In 2011, the Philadelphia Police Department attempted familial searching, but this also uncovered no hits to a suspect.
The FIGG investigation was conducted by Parabon Nanolabs in partnership with the Philadelphia Police Department. The family tree was large – with over 1000 people – and no clear connection to Philadelphia. Parabon also performed forensic phenotyping, producing a sketch of what the suspect may look like today.
Police had been looking for Diaz for some time before his arrest; they did not know where to find him, and they were not sure he was still alive.
Diaz was finally arrested on December 17th, 2023, after several 911 calls had been placed about a man on a bike who was attacking people with a machete in Pennypack Park. Police took a sample of Diaz’s DNA and linked him to the four victims.
Diaz is being held without bond in Philadelphia County.
Sources:
CBS Philadelphia. “Police Turn to Familial DNA with Hopes of Capturing ‘Fairmount Rapist’.” CBS News, March 22, 2011. Accessed December 21, 2023. https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/police-turn-to-familial-dna-with-hopes-of-capturing-fairmount-rapist/.
Harris, Davis. “‘Cases that Haunt You’: Suspect in Sexual Assaults, Murder from 20 Years Ago Arrested After Machete Attacks.” Law & Crime, December 20, 2023. https://lawandcrime.com/crime/cases-that-haunt-you-suspect-in-sexual-assaults-murder-from-20-years-ago-arrested-after-machete-attacks/.
Simon, Alexandra, Aziza Shuler, and Joe Holden. “Elias Diaz Charged with 2003 Philadelphia Cold Case Murder of Rebecca Park.” CBS News, December 20, 2023. Accessed December 21, 2023. https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/elias-diaz-fairmount-park-rapist-rebecca-park-cold-case-charges/.
Whelan, Aubrey. “How DNA Technology Helped Police Identify the Alleged Fairmount Park Rapist.” Philadelphia Inquirer, December 20, 2023. Accessed December 21, 2023. https://www.inquirer.com/health/fairmount-park-rapist-dna-elias-diaz-philadelphia-20231220.html.