What to Know
- Residents of Howard Beach came together at a church in the neighborhood a week after jogger Karina Vetrano was found dead in a nearby marsh
- The community is on edge and some want to know if the slaying of a New York City jogger in Massachusetts is connected to Vetrano's killing
- Police have interviewed hundreds of people and scanned dozens of videos in Vetrano case but there are still no answers
You can’t go far in Howard Beach, Queens, without seeing white ribbons and trees on poles — a remembrance for Karina Vetrano, who was killed here less than a week ago while out on a routine jog.
On Monday, neighbors, families and leaders came together for a standing room only meeting at St. Helen’s church. They came to remember Vetrano and also to seek answers, justice and safety.
“Is it random? That’s the question, is it still random?” one resident asked.
Concern is growing in Howard Beach as a police investigation widens. The search is on for the killer who murdered 30-year-old Vetrano in a neighborhood marsh as she went for a jog around 5 p.m. last Tuesday.
So far the NYPD says it has gotten 30 Crime Stoppers tips, interviewed hundreds of people and scanned dozens of videos from nearby surveillance cameras.
“I’m very concerned. I live in the community. I’ve lived in the community for a long time. I’m not a jogger, so I don’t go in those fields but we have a right to be very concerned until they catch the person or persons who did this,” said Barbara Friedman, of Lindenwood.
The community has been reeling after Vetrano’s killing. One mother stood up and shared a similar story. She told the room her daughter was raped in nearby Rockaway Beach a couple of weeks ago. She said she still has received no answers about the case.
“She’s all swollen up and depressed and not able to talk about it,” the mother said.
And another brutal killing also has residents of Howard Beach concerned. A 27-year-old Google employee from New York City who was visiting family in Massachusetts was found dead, naked and burned on Sunday. She was found on a trail near her mother’s Princeton home. She, like Vetrano, went out jogging and never returned.
“Are we looking into that as well?” one resident asked NYPD Deputy Chief Michael Kemper.
“We are comparing evidence, comparing notes. Simply put, the answer to your question right now is we don’t believe there is a connection,” Kemper said.
As police compare evidence and notes, Howard Beach residents are looking to one another and hoping for swift justice.
Vetrano's mother, Cathie Vetrano, had strong words for her daughter's killer on Sunday, saying that her daughter was a “force to be reckoned with” and that her killer “will be reckoning with that force not only for the rest of your pathetic like but for the rest of eternity as you f---ing burn in hell.”
Leaders told the community Monday that more cameras would be set up at the entrance to the park where Vetrano was killed and that more patrols would be added as well.
There was a $10,000 Crime Stoppers reward Monday night for information leading to an arrest in the case. Police ask anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
