PHILADEPLHIA — Philadelphia police arrested Antonio Rodriguez, the person of interest they believe could be the Kensington Strangler, Monday night.
DNA links the 21-year-old alleged serial killer to three murders in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia, police said at a Monday night news conference.
During that news conference, a 911 call came in saying that Rodriguez was hiding out in a house on the 3300 block of Mudder Street.
Rodriguez is described as a black male about 5-foot-9, 155 pounds with a large scar from his left ear to the middle of his throat with various tattoos including a tattoo on his left arm of the name "Kiara" and on his right arm a tattoo of Scorpio.
He is fluent in Spanish and English and has an arrest record, cops said.
Rodriguez is homeless but frequents the Kensington area, police said.
Police zeroed in on Rodriguez after State Police told Philly detectives that DNA matched him to the three murders.
DNA results link the Kensington Strangler to the December beating, rape and murder of Casey Mahoney and the November killings of Elaine Goldberg and Nicole Piacentini.
Police earlier were executing search warrants trying to find the alleged rapist and murderer.
Rodriguez recently had been released from prison, Capt. James Clark said at the news conference, but he declined to say for what he had been incarcerated or detail his criminal history. He said state police had contacted Philadelphia police about the match in their offender database.
"Right now, the information we're getting is he's homeless, he's wandering in the area, he's frequenting abandoned houses ... so right now we do not believe anyone is helping him out," Clark said.
The attacks took place in a stretch of Kensington known for open prostitution and drugs, although an influx of artists and young homebuyers have made parts of the neighborhood, a few miles north of downtown, a bit trendier in recent years.