IGG Cases > Giles Warrick

Giles Warrick

Giles Daniel Warrick was arrested on November 13, 2019 and charged in the August 1, 1998 rape and murder of 29-year-old Christine Mirzan in Washington, D.C., as well as a series of sexual assaults in Washington, D.C. and Montgomery County, Maryland in the 1990s. The suspect in these crimes was known as the Potomac River Rapist.

Mirzan was an intern at the National Academy of Sciences who had recently moved to the area. She was walking home from a barbeque to the student housing at Georgetown University on the night she died. She had been sexually assaulted and bludgeoned to death with a heavy rock.

Seven of the nine rapes were linked by DNA profiles obtained from crime scene samples. The FGG investigation was conducted by Parabon Nanolabs in cooperation with Montgomery County Police Department officer Steven ‘Smugs’ Smugeresky.

The case against Warrick was pending in D.C. Superior Court. He pled not guilty to the charges, and his trial was scheduled to begin on November 29, 2022. However, on the morning of November 20, 2022, Warrick was found dead in his cell from an apparent hanging. The case has now been closed.

Sources:

Dickerson, Brad. “Police: Suspected ‘Potomac River Rapist’ Lived in Conway Area for at Least a Year.” WECT NBC 6 News, November 14, 2019, last modified December 6, 2019. Accessed December 28, 2020. https://www.wect.com/2019/11/15/police-suspected-potomac-river-rapist-lived-conway-area-least-year/.

Domen, John. “Accused ‘Potomac River Rapist’ Pleads Not Guilty; Trial Set for Next Year.” WTOP News, September 27, 2021. Accessed December 28, 2021. https://wtop.com/local/2021/09/accused-potomac-river-rapist-due-in-court-today/.

Domen, John. “Case Closed: How Police Use DNA Evidence to Work Backward, then Forward.” WTOP News, October 2, 2019. Accessed December 28, 2020. https://wtop.com/local/2019/10/case-closed-how-police-use-dna-evidence-to-work-backward-then-forward/.

FBI. “Potomac River Rapist Cold Case.” FBI News, December 15, 2011. Accessed December 28, 2020. https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/seeking-potomac-river-rapist/potomac-river-rapist-cold-case.

Grunberger, Alessia. “Accused Potomac River Rapist Write ‘Goodbye’ Letter: Report.” Patch, March 2, 2020. Accessed December 28, 2020. https://patch.com/maryland/bethesda-chevychase/accused-potomac-river-rapist-wrote-goodbye-letter-report.

Shapiro, Emily, and Amanda Maile. “Suspected Potomac River Rapist, Who ‘Terrorized’ Women in ‘90s, Caught with Genetic Genealogy.” ABC News, November 15, 2019. Accessed December 28, 2020. https://abcnews.go.com/US/suspected-potomac-river-rapist-terrorized-women-90s-caught/story?id=67039369.

Sorace, Stephen. “Accused ‘Potomac River Rapist’ Found Dead in Jail While Awaiting Trial for Murder Police Say.” Yahoo News, November 20, 2022. Accessed November 30, 2022. https://news.yahoo.com/accused-potomac-river-rapist-found-140628838.html?guccounter=1.

Swalec, Anrea, and NBC Washington Staff. “Suspected Potomac River Rapist, Who Terrorized DC Area in the ‘90s, Arrested.” NBC Washington, November 14, 2019, last modified November 15, 2019. Accessed December 28, 2020. https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/potomac-river-rapist-who-terrorized-dc-maryland-in-90s-arrested/2141622/.

Individual

First Name Giles
Last Name Warrick
Other Names Potomac River Rapist
Victims 10 (Details)
IGG Started nd
Case Cleared 2019-11-13
IGG Org Parabon

Victims

Case ID Name Age Case Opened Location Investigating Org Most Serious Charge Disposition Court
1299 n/a Jane Doe 32 1991-05-06 Gaithersburg, MD FBI;Montgomery CPD All sexual offenses, including rape, sexual assault, and child molestation Suspect died while the trial was ongoing D.C. SUP CT
1290 n/a Jane Doe 18 1991-08-31 Germantown, MD FBI;Montgomery CPD All sexual offenses, including rape, sexual assault, and child molestation Suspect died while the trial was ongoing D.C. SUP CT
1298 n/a Jane Doe 41 1991-11-21 Bethesda, MD FBI;Montgomery CPD All sexual offenses, including rape, sexual assault, and child molestation Suspect died while the trial was ongoing D.C. SUP CT
1297 n/a Jane Doe 36 1991-12-11 North Potomac, MD FBI;Montgomery CPD All sexual offenses, including rape, sexual assault, and child molestation Suspect died while the trial was ongoing D.C. SUP CT
1296 n/a Jane Doe 34 1992-01-24 North Potomac, MD FBI;Montgomery CPD All sexual offenses, including rape, sexual assault, and child molestation Suspect died while the trial was ongoing D.C. SUP CT
1295 n/a Jane Doe 35 1994-03-08 Rockville, MD FBI;Montgomery CPD All sexual offenses, including rape, sexual assault, and child molestation Suspect died while the trial was ongoing D.C. SUP CT
1294 n/a Jane Doe 58 1996-07-20 Washington, DC FBI;D.C. MPD All sexual offenses, including rape, sexual assault, and child molestation Suspect died while the trial was ongoing D.C. SUP CT
1293 n/a Jane Doe 19 1997-02-26 Rockville, MD FBI;Montgomery CPD All sexual offenses, including rape, sexual assault, and child molestation Suspect died while the trial was ongoing D.C. SUP CT
1292 n/a Jane Doe 30 1997-11-14 Silver Spring, MD FBI;Montgomery CPD All sexual offenses, including rape, sexual assault, and child molestation Suspect died while the trial was ongoing D.C. SUP CT
1291 Christine Mirzan 29 1998-08-01 Washington, DC FBI;D.C. MPD First degree murder Suspect died while the trial was ongoing D.C. SUP CT

Last updated: February 9, 2024

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Case data and narrative licensed under CC BY 4.0: Dowdeswell, Tracey (2023), “Forensic Genetic Genealogy Project v. 2022”, Mendeley Data, V1, doi: 10.17632/jcycgvhm96.1. All other content, including photos, have been added.