NYPD has forensic evidence in strangled jogger case, officials say

NYPD detectives will be scouring a desolate marshy area near Howard Beach for several days looking for evidence in the killing of jogger Karina Vetrano, NYPD officials said Thursday.

“We plan to chop down weeds at that location until we are satisfied we have all the evidence,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce told reporters during a briefing.

“We have a lot of forensic evidence so far but we are not getting a lot of Crime Stoppers tips, we have three and they are all pretty generic,” Boyce explained, adding that the reward in the case of the slaying of the 30 year-old Howard Beach woman is up to $10,000.

Investigators said that Vetrano, a graduate of St. John’s University and an avid jogger, was strangled and raped in the marshy area as she jogged on Tuesday evening.

Boyce said police expect to have the results of DNA analysis of body fluids found at the scene in a few days. He noted that Vetrano’s old boyfriend with whom she recently broke up is not a suspect. A law enforcement source said detectives couldn’t tell from a visual analysis of the evidence whether the fluids found were saliva or semen but that DNA testing will be able to determine that.

By Anthony M. DeStefano

tony.destefano@newsday.comtonynewsday

Anthony M. DeStefano has been a reporter for Newsday since 1986 and covers law enforcement, criminal justice and legal affairs from its New York City offices.