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Lost Lives, Preventable Violence and Delayed Justice: The High Cost of Not Collecting DNA From Persons Arrested for A Felony Michael J. Kane, Esq. Majority Counsel, Pennsylvania House Judiciary Committee November 2012 During the months of November and December 2010, the Kensington section of Philadelphia was terrorized by the discovery of the bodies of three young women who had been murdered and sexually assaulted. Elaine Goldberg, 21, was found raped and strangled on November 3, 2010. Nicole Piacentini, 35, was discovered after being raped and strangled on November 13, 2010. Casey Mahoney, 27, died after being raped and strangled on December 15, 2010. During the same period, two other women were assaulted and choked to the point of losing consciousness. Other women were sexually assaulted in the same area and manner, but managed to escape their attacker. All of the women had in common that they had become addicted to drugs and worked as prostitutes along Kensington Avenue to support themselves and their habits. The police recovered a DNA profile of the attacker from the body of Elaine Goldberg soon after it was discovered. It was compared with profiles stored the state database and the National DNA Index System (NDIS) through the federal Combined DNA Index System, called CODIS. There were no matches. DNA left in the bodies of Nicole Piacentini and Casey Mahoney however was found to have come from the same individual who attacked and murdered Elaine Goldberg, prompting Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey to confirm that a serial killer was prowling the streets of Kensington and was probably responsible for the other assaults which had occurred there as well. Because the other victims who survived did not report their assaults to police immediately, no usable DNA was recovered on them. Their descriptions of the assaults, however, all fit the same profile of the person who committed the murders. The Philadelphia Police formed a “Kensington Strangler Task Force” and spent thousands of man hours working to solve the case. They took DNA samples from men who had been previously convicted of soliciting prostitutes. None matched. They interviewed prostitutes and neighbors and called on informants to develop possible leads. They took tips from the community and ran them down. Nothing solid emerged to move the investigation along other than a composite sketch of the attacker made from a description by one of the victims who survived and another who said the man called himself “Anthony”. The killings were the subject of intense media coverage and prompted the “Guardian Angles” to set up patrols in the area. Commissioner Ramsey and Mayor Michael Nutter announced a $30,000 reward and pleaded with the public to provide any information they could in an effort to stop the killings. Citizens in Kensington, frustrated and feeling helpless, began to take the investigation into their own hands causing Mayor Nutter to warn residents to be vigilant but pleading with them not to become vigilantes. Nutter had reason to be concerned. On December 10, 2010 neighbors surrounded the house of an individual who resembled the composite of the killer after he was named in a “Wanted Poster” posted on Facebook. In a scene that Guardian 1 Angles founder Curtis Sliwa described as nearly “storming the Bastille”, the man was forced to call police to rescue him from the angry crowd. He volunteered to be taken into custody, interviewed and have a sample of his own DNA taken. Analysis showed it did not match the profile of the killer and police held a press conference to assure everyone that he was not responsible for the killings. i *** On June 4, 2010, four months before the body of Elaine Goldberg was found, Antonio Rodriguez, 22, was arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance with the Intent to Sell or Deliver (PWID) and a related drug charge. PWID is a felony under Pennsylvania law. At a preliminary hearing on July 14, a court found sufficient evidence to establish probable cause he committed both offenses and he was held for trial. On October 21, 2010, Rodriguez pled guilty to the felony drug charge and prosecutors dismissed the misdemeanor. He was sentenced to a term of 3-23 months in prison plus one year probation but released soon thereafter with accumulated credit for time spent in jail prior to his plea. After his conviction, as required by Pennsylvania law, Rodruiguez’ cheek was swabbed to collect a sample of his DNA which was then sent to the state police lab for analysis. Backlogs in extracting forensic profiles delayed the results until mid-January 2011. When completed, they were uploaded into CODIS and authorities immediately got a “hit”. Rodriguez’ profile matched those recovered from the three murdered Kensington women. State police performed another test of the DNA sample taken from Rodriguez and confirmed it was the same as the profiles in CODIS. With the DNA match in hand, Philadelphia police quickly arranged a press conference on January 18, 2011 to announce that Antonio Rodriguez was a suspect in the Kensington killings. They sought the public’s help in locating him. People in the community reacted immediately and he was taken into custody before the press conference was over. He was initially held for violating probation in connection with the drug conviction in October and a warrant was issued to secure another DNA sample which quickly confirmed the DNA match. The next day, he was arrested and charged with three counts of murder and other related crimes. He confessed and later was convicted and sentenced to multiple terms of life imprisonment. *** The Kensington Strangler case is one of thousands of examples in Pennsylvania and across the country where an offender’s DNA profile stored in the state or national database proved to be the key to solving other violent crimes. Had Rodriguez not been convicted of the felony drug charge, he probably would not have been identified as the Kensington Strangler, at least not before other victims met the same fate as Elaine Goldberg, Nicole Piacentini and Casey Mahoney. 2 Tragically though, Ms Piacentini and Ms. Mahoney and other victims of his attacks might well have been spared their horrible deaths and ordeals as well, had Pennsylvania been among the majority of states and the federal government that have enacted legislation allowing the collection of a DNA sample when a person is charged with a felony, rather than only after conviction. Had Rodriguez’ profile been entered into CODIS within the normal processing time after his arrest in June 2010 or the probable cause determination on July 14, it would have been matched to the profile of the attacker recovered from the body of Elaine Goldberg in early November. Rodriguez would have been immediately identified as the probable killer and arrested. ii Instead, he continued stalking the Kensington neighborhood for another three months. The delay of four months between his drug arrest and conviction permitted Rodriguez to become a serial murderer, costing two young women their lives and unnecessary suffering for his other victims. Though records are not kept to easily determine other examples of a killer or rapist who could have been stopped with a pre-conviction DNA sample, there is no doubt the missed opportunity in the case of the Kensington Strangler is not unique. Clear evidence exists that taking DNA samples along with fingerprints when a person is arrested for a felony saves lives and prevents violent attacks. In Denver, a review of 5 individuals found they committed 3 murders, 18 sexual assaults, one attempted sexual assault, 7 kidnappings, 4 robberies, 3 felony assaults and 11 home invasions after being arrested for a felony without their DNA being taken. iii In Chicago, 8 individuals were identified who were responsible for 22 murders, 30 rapes along with numerous attempted rapes and an aggravated kidnapping, all of which could have been prevented had Illinois permitted a DNA swab on arrest. iv In Maryland, three individuals convicted of murder and rape committed other serious violent crimes which could have been prevented had DNA been taken when they were arrested for other crimes. v These surveys led Colorado, Illinois and Maryland to subsequently enact laws to permit DNA collection from those arrested or charged with certain crimes. vi Twenty three other states have laws permitting pre-conviction DNA samples to one degree or another as well. Congress has followed suit. vii President Obama has called taking DNA from a person arrested for a felony “right thing to do”. viii There is no way to calculate the number of violent crimes that were prevented in states that adopted arrest DNA legislation but the consequences of failing to act is demonstrable. Not long after Washington State legislature tabled an arrestee DNA bill, a person was charged with felony hit and run involving a police car. He later committed 22 rapes and other violent crimes. Only when he was convicted of the hit and run did a DNA test link him to the string of violence. ix 3 These surveys of course only disclose crimes that were later linked to the perpetrator because of DNA found on the victim or at the scene. They do not account for other violent crimes which these perpetrators may have committed after being arrested, but where no DNA was recovered. Taking DNA at the time of a felony arrest not only prevents crimes and saves lives, it can reverse the injustice to someone wrongfully convicted or even serving time in prison for a crime he did not commit. One example is David Jones, described as a mentally disabled part time janitor, who was convicted in 1995 of three murders in Los Angeles which occurred in the early 1990’s.

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