New video of suspect in Kensington stranglings released

A new surveillance video of a suspect wanted in the slaying of a woman on Dec. 6 in Kensington - and who may be responsible for the rape and strangulation of several others in the area - was released Friday by police.

The video shows the man walking eastbound in the 1800 block of Sergeant Street from Kensington Avenue on Dec. 6, said Capt. John Darby of the Special Victims Unit. The footage was captured about 45 minutes before a woman was attacked in a nearby alley.

"Someone who knows this man . . . is going to look at this image and say 'I know this guy,'" Darby said.

The suspect is seen wearing a dark colored button-down jacket with a hooded shirt underneath. He is black, in his early 20s, and about 5-foot-8. The man had long sideburns and appears to be listening to a white iPod.

Darby said the suspect walks with a "characteristic gate" in which he "sways" to the left.

"He is eerily similar" to the person seen in a video taken about 15 minutes before another assault, Darby said.

Four women have been strangled in Kensington in recent weeks, though police say one of the slayings was unlikely to be related.

Investigators on Friday identified the latest victim as Casey Mahoney, 27. The East Stroudsburg woman was found dead Wednesday on the 100 block of Tusculum Street.

Elaine Goldberg, 21, was found strangled in a lot off Somerset Street on Nov. 3. Nicole Piacentini, 35, was found strangled a few blocks away on Nov. 13. A third woman was found strangled off Erie Avenue near Kensington Avenue, but police said they were less inclined to think her death was linked to the other two.

Three additional women have told police they were attacked and that the assailant attempted to sexually assault them.