New clue in jogger slay
Cops release pic of witness seen in park
The NYPD released a sketch on Wednesday of a man who was spotted in the Howard Beach park where jogger Karina Vetrano was killed, saying he could help with their investigation.
“I hope this man has the decency to be able to come to us and tell us if he saw or knows anything,” the slain woman’s mom, Cathy Vetrano, said during a radio interview with Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa.
“We don’t suspect him, we have no reason to believe that, but you will be rewarded greatly.”
The man, who cops believe could provide information about what he saw the day Vetrano was murdered, was wearing a wool cap at the time and is believed to be between 35 and 40 years old.
“He was seen on the pathway of the Belt Parkway, which is in the north end of the park, of Spring Creek Park,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said.
“This sketch was prepared by a utility worker who was working in the area at the time and saw this individual near the top of the park.”
The man has no direct connection to the killing and is not a person of interest, Boyce added.
“He was wearing dark pants with a red T-shirt, and if you’ll notice, a dark wool hat. Remember, the day was Aug. 2, a little unusual he’s wearing a wool hat,” Boyce said.
“We don’t know who he is. We don’t know if he’s a fellow jogger, what he’s doing.”
Vetrano, 30, was raped and murdered on Aug. 2 during her daily run in Spring Creak Park near her Howard Beach home.
Cops recovered DNA at the scene, but didn’t get any hits when they checked it against state and national databases.
Her family has been frustrated by the lack of progress.
“[Her killer] needs to know he’s not fooling any of us,” Cathy Vetrano said during the emotional interview with Sliwa.
“He is just pathetic, he is impotent. He is so small and pathetic, that the only way he feels he has any importance or power is by torturing and hurting a woman.”
She asked anyone who may be harboring him to do “the courageous thing” and report him.
“I know there’s no doubt in my mind that if anyone had ever done this to your child, you know how you’d feel, you’d feel like me,” she said. “And there will be no limits to my wrath.”
The NYPD, in conjunction with the mayor’s office, Police Foundation and Uniformed Firefighters Association, is offering a $35,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest.