DNA tests in rapes show two attackers

Two different rapists brutally attacked women in St. Paul's Payne-Phalen area this month, not one as police previously thought.

But the news Tuesday did little to allay fears in the neighborhood.

DNA collected after a 13-year-old girl was raped on the way to her school bus stop doesn't match DNA from the rape of a 57-year-old woman on New Year's Day, St. Paul police learned Tuesday.

From the beginning, police lacked evidence that the same man committed both rapes, but a number of similarities led them to say they were 90 percent certain.

Whether the attacks were the work of a serial rapist or separate attackers matters little to most residents, said Leslie McMurray, Payne Phalen District 5 Planning Council executive director.

"I don't think there's comfort in anything until the people are caught," she said, adding that more than 150 people attended a community meeting last week and neighbors have been organizing foot patrols. "I think the concern is the crime stops in the neighborhood."

Police also received information Tuesday that the DNA from the rape of the 13-year-old, which occurred Jan. 8, didn't match the DNA of any sex offender registered in a state database. Investigators are awaiting results from a national search. The DNA from the rape of the 57-year-old didn't match sex offenders registered in the state or national database.

There were benefits to coordinating the investigations of both cases and the work doesn't change much now, said Sgt. Paul Schnell, the cases' lead investigator.

"Our only objective from an investigative standpoint continues to be to identify, arrest and seek prosecution," he said.

DNA test results from the rape of the 57-year-old woman came back about two weeks ago, and police said they received test results from the second case Tuesday, which showed the attacks to have been committed by separate people.

The similarities that initially led investigators to believe the cases were connected included the fact that both rapes occurred off Payne Avenue, about half a mile apart, and on two consecutive Mondays.

Each victim was choked — the 13-year-old to unconsciousness. Both victims were short. The victims' descriptions of their attackers, while general, were similar.

Because stranger rapes are rare and there are so many similarities between the cases, it was somewhat surprising for investigators to discover two rapists, Schnell said.

"To have two attacks as highly vicious and violent as they were, in close proximity in time, is almost unbelievable," he said.