Composite sketch of suspect in most recent attack, June 26.
Update: At a Thursday press gathering, Major Jimmy Vaughn addressed the two attacks on Maham Road residents, one last April and one a few days ago. He says they happened in two different complexes, but within very close proximity of one another. Despite similarities, police do not believe the same person committed these two crimes, he says. As for the Vickery Meadow incident, there wasn’t really an answer other than that police cross check forensic evidence from all of these crimes, and with that in adjacent municipalities such as Richardson and Garland.
The victims remain nameless, faceless, as is the rule in sex-assault cases. What we know about each is that a weapon-wielding assailant struck out of nowhere — attacking each in her own home — raped her and stole her belongings, all during daylight hours.
We know the women live in close proximity to one another — two practically are next-door neighbors and the other lives about five miles south of them, via the Cottonwood Creek Trail, or six miles by car.
Each live in lower-rent apartments in areas that generally report high crime rates.
In April and again in May — the second within a few miles of the first (exact same terrifying MO) — women were attacked, mid-day, ambushed at home, sexually violated and robbed of any money or valuables the perpetrator could carry as he fled the scene.
Now, on June 26, near Spring Valley and Maham Road, same approximate location as the first attack, according to police, “suspect entered the female victim’s apartment, threatened her with a weapon, and sexually assaulted her. The subject stole property from the apartment and put the property into a Black Chrysler PT Cruiser with a Dallas Cowboys Star emblem in the center of the rear window … The subject is a Latin Male, 23-25 years old, approximately 5’7 inches tall and 170 pounds, with a mustache. The subject has tattoos on both arms and a mark underneath his left eye.”
Police have produced three composite sketches of suspects, and none of them look alike. The Maham Road victims each described her assailant as “Latino, 5’7, 20s.” The second described her attacker as “Latino, 5’4, 20s.”
Dallas Police information officer Warren Mitchell says detectives are aware of the similarities in the cases. Police also are working to compare DNA profiles, if any were found, he says. However, he adds, the victims all gave quite different descriptions when it came down to details.
“In the current case, the victim described tattoos on both arms, as well as a scar/mark/tattoo below his left eye,” he notes. “The victim in the Maham case from April does not recall any tattoos, marks or scars.” Also the PT Cruiser getaway car was spotted in just one of the cases.
Mitchell says he will get back to us tomorrow if the sex-crime unit can offer anymore intel.
Forensics might rule out the possibility of connection. Whether one, two or three men committed these offenses, the fact remains that women living in these areas, especially in apartments, should remain on high alert.
In addition the crime scenes, although slightly outside Lake Highlands, border the Cottonwood hike and bike trail, frequented by folks from Lake Highlands and from all over the city.
We will update this post as we learn more.
Anyone with information on this or another case should call 214.373.TIPS (8477) anytime; a $5,000 reward is possible when a tip leads to arrest.
