Massachusetts police have arrested a man in connection with the August killing of woman who had been out jogging in the woods, a case that closely resembled a daylight murder in New York City less than a week earlier.
With the arrest of 31-year-old Angelo Colon-Ortiz in the Massachusetts case on Friday, authorities now have identified suspects in both cases, which are not believed to be related.
Vanessa Marcotte, a 27-year-old account manager for Google in New York City, was found naked with her body partially burned on Aug. 7 in Princeton, where she was visiting family.
Her murder followed the Aug. 2 killing of 30-year-old Karina Vetrano, who was strangled in Queens while out on an isolated jogging path.
“We got him,” Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. said during a news conference Saturday announcing the arrest.
The suspect’s DNA matched that of samples taken from Marcotte’s hands.
Similarly, DNA recovered from beneath the fingernails of the victim in the New York case matched that of a suspect who was taken into custody in February.
The Massachusetts suspect was charged with aggravated assault and battery and assault with attempt to rape, and more charges could be forthcoming, prosecutors said in a statement.
Colon-Ortiz was being held on $10 million bail and was due to appear in court on Tuesday.
Metro Website Reporter Nikki Mascali contributed to this report.
