Philadelphia police release new video of Kensington suspect

Philadelphia police released a new surveillance video Friday of a man who allegedly assaulted a woman on Dec. 6 in Kensington and who may be responsible for the rape and strangulation of other women in the area.

Capt. John Darby of the Special Victims Unit said the video showed the man walking east from Kensington Avenue in the 1800 block of Sergeant Street about 45 minutes before a woman was attacked in a nearby alley.

The man is wearing a dark buttoned jacket with a hooded shirt underneath, Darby said.

He described the man as black, in his early 20s, and standing 5-foot-7 to 5-foot-10. The man had long sideburns, and was carrying what appeared to be a white iPod or other music player and was wearing earphones, Darby said.

The man walks with a "characteristic gait" in which he "sways" to the left, Darby said. "He is eerily similar" to the man in a previous video, which was taken about 15 minutes before the same attack.

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

The attacker told the 33-year-old victim his name was Anthony, Darby said.

Police are asking anyone who knows the man in the video to call the Special Victims Unit at 215-685-3263.

Four women have been strangled in the area in recent weeks, although police say one of the deaths was unlikely to be related to the others. Three other women told police a man had sexually assaulted them or tried to.

On Nov. 3, Elaine Goldberg was found strangled in a lot off Somerset Street. Nicole Piacentini 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.

On Wednesday, police said, the body of a 27-year-old woman was found in the 100 block of Tusculum Street. The victim was identified as Casey Mahoney of East Stroudsburg, Pa. The cause of death was listed as manual strangulation.