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Two Kensington stranglers? Hmm...
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Two Kensington stranglers? Hmm...
A few weeks ago, we posed the question: What if there is no single "Kensington Strangler?"
... amid all the hype, it's not clear that the Kensington Strangler really exists â or, rather, that a single person has been responsible for certain recent crimes. In fact, it's not clear to what extent some of these crimes could happen fairly often.
To be sure, police have linked the same person (by DNA) to the two murders-by-strangulation that ignited the story. That Kensington Strangler does exist, and has yet to be identified.
But several more cases of murder and assault involving choking have not, despite appearing over and over again in articles about the Strangler, been linked to the same suspect.
And CP wondered: Kensington is, after all, a neighborhood ridden with both violent crime and prostitution â could it be that the sudden media spotlight was simply picking up incidents that happen more frequently than we'd like to believe?
The question might have seemed answered when a third victim was tied by DNA to the same murderer â but it wasn't: a few days ago, the Daily News acknowledged that police are still skeptical about connections between some of the different choking crimes against prostitutes.
"After latest assault, police say there could be two Kensington Stranglers," ran the headline.
Only the police didn't exactly say that. Jan Ransom reports that "Police have acknowledged that more than one person could be roaming Kensington and choking women."
As in two, yes â but also, perhaps, as in several.
Meanwhile, the news indicates that oft-seen police composite sketch, which resulted from the descriptions of women who survived the attacks, is very possibly not a depiction of the "Kensington Strangler" responsible for the three murders.
And whether it depicts the author of several other attacks is questionable, too. In early December, the Inquirer reported that "The surviving victims, meanwhile, have each described essentially the same man as their attacker."
Yet the Inquirer reported just over a week ago (emphasis added):
The first two victims, who were attacked in October, said he had a goatee and a mark on his cheek. A woman who was attacked weeks later told police there was no goatee or mark, and she said he had sideburns. Two women described him as soft-spoken; one said he had carried a white iPod and called himself Anthony.
In other words, it's possible that as many as six or seven cases are tied to the same man; but it's also possible that prostitutes are just getting choked with disturbing frequency all the time, and that the day-to-day risk they face has simply been thrust in the spotlight by the three apparently-connected killings.
makes sense....
[...] Two Kensington stranglers? Hmm… :: The Clog :: Blog Archive :: Staff Blog :: Philadelphia City... [...]
if he(thompson) knows so much why dosent he go help police solve the crime?
One thing that people fail to realize is that prostitutes are involved in high risk situations daily and are often assaulted. However, there is a problem with dealing with prostitutes as your primary witnesses. Any time a woman prostitute in the area is picked up for soliciting prostitution or using drugs such as crack and heroin, they can flip and say that they were just attacked by the strangler. Then, the police are caught in a serious dilemma because it be bad press to lock up a supposed "victim" of the kensington strangler. These women, although stuck in very sad in tragic situation, are not the most reliable sources and so it's difficult to say how much of these assaults are occuring. One thing that cannot be denied is that people are dying and one man has been connected to multiple murders.
[...] 2011 by Editor. Philly police say they've arrested the âKensington Strangler,â and he's a 21-yeaKensington Strangler - Philadelphia Police Arrest Suspect in 'Kensington Strangler' Murders [Crime]. Posted on January [...]
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