NOTE: This article contains details and descriptions that are graphic and disturbing. Please read at your own discretion.
The Broward County Sheriff’s Office (BSO) announced formal charges placed against a man accused of being the infamous ‘Pillowcase Rapist’ who allegedly terrorized numerous women in the Florida county nearly 40 years ago.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony said authorities have identified and charged Robert Koehler, 62, in six sexual assault cases from the 1980s. The exact charges are not yet known to the public.
Authorities accuse Koehler of carrying out these attacks with “diabolical precision.”
“On at least eight occasions in 1984 and 1985, detectives believe Koehler snuck into homes in Broward County late at night or in the wee hours of the morning through unlocked doors and attacked his victims while they slept or prepared for bed,” a BSO news release said.
The release accuses the suspect of covering his victims’ faces (or his own), sometimes with pillowcases, holding a knife to their throats and threatening to “kill them or their family members before raping and robbing them.”
Authorities allege Koehler may have committed 40 to 45 rapes, though the release detailed one assault specifically, noting how difficult it was for the victims to go so many years without justice.
“In June 1984, a woman living in an apartment in Pompano Beach endured a sudden, cruel and violent attack in the sanctity of her home,” the BSO reported. “She was brutally raped at knifepoint by a man who broke into her apartment.”
At the time, stories of the Pillowcase Rapist were heavily reported by the media, but the case eventually went cold.
However, with the help of modern science and technological advances in DNA testing, along with meticulous record keeping and sample preservation from the Broward County Sheriff’s Office, detectives were led to identify Koehler as the attacker.
Koehler was already jailed in a neighbouring county on similar charges related to the assault of a woman in the early ’80s, Tony revealed at the news conference. Koehler pleaded not guilty to this charge.
The Broward County Sheriff’s Office credited cold case unit Sgt. Kami Floyd with the success in advancing the Pillowcase Rapist case. In 2019, Floyd began the examination of thousands of sexual assault cases and 500 boxes of evidence from the 1980s before successfully narrowing the suspect pool down to just a few individuals.
The BSO released a YouTube video in which Floyd discusses her process in investigating the cold case. Several victim retellings of the attacks are also included in the video produced by the sherriff’s office.
“At the time (of the assaults), all we had was blood typing,” Floyd said in the video. “With this new technology that we have, we were able to retest the specimens and get a full DNA profile of our suspect.”
Floyd and her team were able to arrest Koehler after she obtained a new DNA swab from him that matched several original specimens.
“From the DNA that we were able to pull from our evidence, with 100 per cent certainty Robert Koehler’s DNA matches the DNA from every one of our victims,” Floyd said.
Floyd told NBC several of the victims are excited to see Koehler potentially brought to justice.
“Several of them have commented that they hope more women will come forward,” she told NBC. “For those who haven’t come forward yet, this will bring you some closure.”
If you or someone you know is experiencing abuse or is involved in an abusive situation, please visit the Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime for help. They are also reachable toll-free at 1-877-232-2610.
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