Kensington death not linked to strangler

A woman found dead in a Kensington rowhouse on Christmas Eve was not a victim of the Kensington Strangler, according to police.

The women, identified today as Crystal Dawejko, 25, did not die of strangulation or trauma, according to the Medical Examiner's Office, which is awaiting toxicology results to make a final determination on the cause of death.

Dawejko, of Vandike Street near Unruh Avenue, was found dead around 3:07 p.m. Friday in a house on C Street near Somerset, police said. Her death has not been declared a homicide but the Homicide Detective Division is still looking into the case while toxicology reports are pending, police said.

When Dawejko's body was found, speculation mounted that she could have been the latest victim of the Kensington Strangler, whose first known victim, Elaine Goldberg, was found about three blocks away on Nov. 3.

The strangulations of three women - including Goldberg, Nicole Piacentini and Casey Mahoney - have been linked by DNA to the Kensington Strangler and three other women claim they survived very similar attacks.

The reward for the strangler's arrest now stands at $7,000 and the reward for his arrest and conviction is $37,000. Anyone with information is urged to call police at 215-686-8477.