Twenty years ago, a man began raping women around Washington, breaking into their homes and lying in wait. Now cops tell Christine Pelisek he may be operating again-this time as a killer.
It was 7:30 p.m. on a crisp November evening in 1997 when Jane L. arrived home to her townhouse in North Potomac, a tony enclave near Washington, D.C. She was walking down the hallway when she noticed what looked like a blanket draped over a chair in her den. When she moved closer, a ghostly figure arose from the chair, tossed the blanket over her head, pushed her to the floor, and sexually assaulted her. The man, who police had dubbed the Potomac Rapist, threatened to kill her before he walked out the front door. Outside on the front steps, the sound of his scream ripped through the night.
Related story on The Daily Beast: David Kenney...
It was 7:30 p.m. on a crisp November evening in 1997 when Jane L. arrived home to her townhouse in North Potomac, a tony enclave near Washington, D.C. She was walking down the hallway when she noticed what looked like a blanket draped over a chair in her den. When she moved closer, a ghostly figure arose from the chair, tossed the blanket over her head, pushed her to the floor, and sexually assaulted her. The man, who police had dubbed the Potomac Rapist, threatened to kill her before he walked out the front door. Outside on the front steps, the sound of his scream ripped through the night.
Related story on The Daily Beast: David Kenney...
- 6/13/2011
- by Christine Pelisek
- The Daily Beast
Nine days after she drove her minivan into the Hudson River, killing herself and three of her children, La'Shanda Armstrong's family is grieving-and battling. They say that even in death, the father of her kids is controlling her by burying her separately from them.
Hundreds of mourners filed into the First Baptist Church on Hoyt Street in Spring Valley, New York, on Thursday, while family members remained stoic and silent as La'Shanda Armstrong was laid to rest. It was nine days after she drove her minivan into the Hudson River, killing three of her children. But what should have brought closure only opened new wounds for a family that has been grieving and battling simultaneously, evident from the funeral's tense faces and terse conversation.
Related story on The Daily Beast: David Kenney and Alaska's Bizarre Murder Case
That's because "Harry" Jean Pierre, the three children's biological father, refused at the...
Hundreds of mourners filed into the First Baptist Church on Hoyt Street in Spring Valley, New York, on Thursday, while family members remained stoic and silent as La'Shanda Armstrong was laid to rest. It was nine days after she drove her minivan into the Hudson River, killing three of her children. But what should have brought closure only opened new wounds for a family that has been grieving and battling simultaneously, evident from the funeral's tense faces and terse conversation.
Related story on The Daily Beast: David Kenney and Alaska's Bizarre Murder Case
That's because "Harry" Jean Pierre, the three children's biological father, refused at the...
- 4/22/2011
- by Daleen Berry
- The Daily Beast
In the years since she disappeared, the Alabama girl's family has kept her case from going cold-and a startling new discovery suggests it may have just paid off. By Barbie Latza Nadeau
There is no one as desperate as a parent whose child is missing and presumed dead. Every lead, no matter how far-fetched, is clung to. Such is the case with Natalee Holloway, the 18-year-old Alabama high-school student who disappeared on a senior trip to the holiday island of Aruba on May 30, 2005. Frustrated by the lack of cooperation from the Aruban officials, her parents have spent the last five years keeping her story alive and even conducting their own investigation into what happened to their daughter, turning up countless dead-end clues along the way.
Related story on The Daily Beast: David Kenney and Alaska's Bizarre Murder Case
Their perseverance may have just paid off.
Last week, the latest clue...
There is no one as desperate as a parent whose child is missing and presumed dead. Every lead, no matter how far-fetched, is clung to. Such is the case with Natalee Holloway, the 18-year-old Alabama high-school student who disappeared on a senior trip to the holiday island of Aruba on May 30, 2005. Frustrated by the lack of cooperation from the Aruban officials, her parents have spent the last five years keeping her story alive and even conducting their own investigation into what happened to their daughter, turning up countless dead-end clues along the way.
Related story on The Daily Beast: David Kenney and Alaska's Bizarre Murder Case
Their perseverance may have just paid off.
Last week, the latest clue...
- 11/20/2010
- by Barbie Latza Nadeau
- The Daily Beast
Beverly Hills Police Chief, who has not before commented on the mysterious murder of star publicist Ronni Chasen, denies sharing details of his department's investigation.
In the baffling case of who shot veteran Hollywood publicist Ronni Chasen, the Beverly Hills Police Chief, who until now hasn't spoken publicly about the case, shot down a report that he had told a city official that his department believes Chasen's death was planned in advance.
Related story on The Daily Beast: David Kenney and Alaska's Bizarre Murder Case
"I never told anyone that," says Police Chief David Snowden. "What they don't know, they make up. And that seems to be the case now. Take that as somebody trying to make a hit with the newspaper. I never talked to anyone about that."
Snowden pushed back against a story in the Hollywood Reporter that suggested detectives had a theory that Chasen was not gunned...
In the baffling case of who shot veteran Hollywood publicist Ronni Chasen, the Beverly Hills Police Chief, who until now hasn't spoken publicly about the case, shot down a report that he had told a city official that his department believes Chasen's death was planned in advance.
Related story on The Daily Beast: David Kenney and Alaska's Bizarre Murder Case
"I never told anyone that," says Police Chief David Snowden. "What they don't know, they make up. And that seems to be the case now. Take that as somebody trying to make a hit with the newspaper. I never talked to anyone about that."
Snowden pushed back against a story in the Hollywood Reporter that suggested detectives had a theory that Chasen was not gunned...
- 11/19/2010
- by Christine Pelisek
- The Daily Beast
Troubling questions surround the death of a 24-year-old beauty pageant contestant, whose body was found a year after her disappearance in a remote ravine. Christine Pelisek has exclusive new details.
When the body of the 24-year-old beauty pageant contestant was discovered in a rugged ravine in the Santa Monica Mountains, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department was in such a rush to retrieve her remains, deputies left behind several body parts.
Related story on The Daily Beast: David Kenney and Alaska's Bizarre Murder Case
"We went back twice, and collected small toe bones, finger and vertebrae," the Los Angeles County Coroner Assistant Chief Ed Winter tells The Daily Beast in an exclusive interview, revealing for the first time how the investigation might have been compromised.
Furthermore, he says, the body was whisked out of the canyon by helicopter without the permission of the coroner's office-a charge denied by a spokesman...
When the body of the 24-year-old beauty pageant contestant was discovered in a rugged ravine in the Santa Monica Mountains, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department was in such a rush to retrieve her remains, deputies left behind several body parts.
Related story on The Daily Beast: David Kenney and Alaska's Bizarre Murder Case
"We went back twice, and collected small toe bones, finger and vertebrae," the Los Angeles County Coroner Assistant Chief Ed Winter tells The Daily Beast in an exclusive interview, revealing for the first time how the investigation might have been compromised.
Furthermore, he says, the body was whisked out of the canyon by helicopter without the permission of the coroner's office-a charge denied by a spokesman...
- 11/6/2010
- by Christine Pelisek
- The Daily Beast
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