New York

Massachusetts Officials Release DNA Profile of Suspect in Slaying of Jogger From New York City

Vanessa Marcotte, who lived in New York City, went for a run while visiting family in Massachusetts over the summer and never returned

What to Know

  • Vanessa Marcotte, who lived in New York City, was visiting family in Princeton, Massachusetts, over the summer when she was killed
  • She went for a jog Aug. 7 and never returned, officials have said
  • Investigators say her killer would have had scratches on his face, neck, hands and arms

Authorities in Massachusetts say they now have a DNA profile of the person believed to have killed a 27-year-old New York City woman out running near her mother's Massachusetts home last summer.

Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early said the DNA profile shows the suspect is an athletic, light-skinned male and about 30 years old. He would have had scratches on his body following Vanessa Marcotte's Aug. 7 slaying.

The suspect is also Latino and had a shaved head based on witness descriptions, according to Early.

Marcotte, a New York City resident who worked as an account manager for Google, was in Princeton, Massachusetts, visiting her family that fateful weekend when she went on a jog, but never returned. Her body, which investigators say was naked and partially burned, was found in a remote and wooded area about a half mile away later that evening. Authorities say there were also signs she had struggled with her attacker.

State police announced in November they were searching for a dark SUV that had been parked on the side of the road where she was last seen in connection with her slaying.

Investigators have also received more than 1,300 tips to a dedicated tip line.

Meanwhile, her family spoke out days before Christmas, thanking the public for supporting them and announcing they had started a foundation in Marcotte's name that encourages her values of "giving back and volunteerism."

"Not a day goes by that we don't reflect on the enormity of her loss," Marcotte's uncle, Steven Therrien, said while reading a statement.

Marcotte's slaying came five days after a woman in Queens was murdered while on a run. Police have arrested 20-year-old Chanel Lewis after matching his DNA to samples found on 30-year-old Karina Vetrano, whom authorities said "ferociously" fought her attacker. However, police in New York and Massachusetts have added there is nothing connecting the Queens case to the case in Princeton.

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