Crime & Safety

FBI and Local Police Launch Campaign to Solve Linked Murder and Rapes from the 90s

Law enforcement officials have linked seven of nine incidents from 1991 through 1998, including the Georgetown rape and murder of Christine Mirzayan.

The D.C. Metropolitan Police Department is offering up to a $25,000 reward for information that helps with Potomac River Rapist cold-case. Police are looking for the serial rapist and murderer who attacked women in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. Police believe there are nine related attacks and have linked seven of them with DNA, according to a news release from the FBI.

Officials launched a dedicated website; digital billboards up and down the East Coast; social media alerts on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube; as well as podcasts on iTunes and radio spots to raise awareness of the investigation. The new campaign uses similar techniques to those that resulted in the arrest of the East Coast Rapist as well as Ten Most Wanted fugitive Whitey Bulger.

The case is being investigated by the Montgomery County, Md., Police Department, Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), and the FBI’s Washington Field Office with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

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The Potomac River Rapist is described as an African-American male, between 5’8”-5’11” tall, with a medium build. At the time of the assaults, he was believed to be in his late-20s to late-30s. Since time has progressed, he is believed to be in his late-40s to late-50s.

, a 29-year-old woman working in D.C. as an intern, was attacked and murdered on her walk to her Georgetown home on Aug. 1, 1998. All other incidents took place in Montgomery County, Md.

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The dates and locations of these assaults are:

DateApproximate TimeSubdivisionLocation Monday, May 6, 1991 8:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m. Washingtonian Woods Gaithersburg, Md. Thursday, Sept. 5, 1991 10:00 p.m. - 10:30p.m. Watkins Meadows Germantown, Md. Thursday, Nov. 21, 1991 9:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. Potomac Village/Downtown Bethesda, Md. Wednesday, Dec. 11, 1991 8:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Quince Orchard Knolls North Potomac, Md. Friday, Jan. 24, 1992 9:00 p.m. Potomac Grove North Potomac, Md. Tuesday, March 8, 1994 7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Highwood Rockville, Md. Wednesday, Feb. 26, 1997 7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Rock Creek Manor Rockville, Md. Friday, Nov. 14, 1997 7:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. New Hampshire Avenue/Rt. 198 Silver Spring, Md. Saturday, Aug. 1, 1998 10:30 p.m. - 11:00 p.m. 3600 block Canal Road, Georgetown Washington, D.C.

Police ask the public to keep an open mind and consider any one they knew who might fit the description and lived in the area at the time. The FBI news release said the suspect might not seem to have a violent side.

"Because investigators are in possession of DNA evidence that can either positively link the suspect to his crimes or exclude innocent parties, citizens should not hesitate to provide information, even if it is just the name of a potential suspect," according to the news release.

Law enforcement agencies are asking anyone with information to contact MPD at (202) 727-9099 or the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324). Additionally, anonymous information may be submitted to the police department’s TEXT TIP LINE by text messaging 50411.


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