A Congressman who represents parts of Brooklyn and Queens on Monday called on federal officials to up security at the park where a runner was sexually assaulted and strangled before being left in the tall grass a week ago.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries said in a letter to the Department of the Interior should work to cut weeds, improve lighting and add security at sections of the Gateway National Recreation Area near Jamaica Bay in the wake of the killing of Karina Vetrano. The 30-year-old was found dead near a jogging path near the area on Tuesday by her father, a retired firefighter who reported her missing and had joined police in the search.
Police, prosecutors and lawmakers on the city, state and federal levels were expected to appear at the public meeting at St. Helen's Catholic Church in Howard Beach at 7 p.m. to discuss the death of Karina Vetrano, who was sexually assaulted and strangled while running on a jogging path near Jamaica Bay on Tuesday.
"We must do everything possible to prevent another tragic murder from ever happening again," Jeffries said in the letter.
His request comes ahead of a public meeting where elected officials and law enforcement will discuss Vetrano's death. The open meeting is set for 7 p.m. Monday at St. Helen's Catholic Church in Howard Beach.
Police, meanwhile, continue to work toward identifying Vetrano's killer. Sources told NBC 4 New York that tests on a DNA sample found at the scene have yet to yield a match, and more tests needed to be done.
Last week, NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said that there was a "severe community threat" after Vetrano's death and called the circumstances of the killing "extraordinarily rare."
Law enforcement sources have said nothing in Vetrano's personal life raised a red flag and Boyce later said the attack appeared to be random in nature.
The woman worked as a caterer for RV Rooftop at Vetro, which said in an Instagram post it would be closed Wednesday to hold a candlelight vigil in remembrance. She was a world traveler and aspiring writer, and on her blog, she wrote about her life: "It's chaotic and unpredictable, but I do believe that on some days, it's quite beautiful, in all its poetic little tragedies."
Police on Monday added that there was nothing to suggest Vetrano's death was linked to the killing of a New York City Google employee who went missing after leaving her mother's home in Massachusetts for a run on Sunday. Her naked and burned body was found in the woods about a half-mile from her mother's house later that day, and authorities ruled her death a homicide.
No arrests have been made in either case.
Anyone with information about Vetrano's death should call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
