Police: 'East Coast Rapist' tried to hang self in jail
NEW HAVEN, CT
Aaron Thomas, 39, was returned to jail after a brief hospital
stay, New Haven police Officer Joe Avery said Saturday night.
Thomas is scheduled to appear Monday in New Haven Superior Court.
Police said Saturday that DNA confirmed that the unemployed
truck driver is the East Coast Rapist, suspected in attacks on at
least 17 women.
Thomas could not be reached for comment; it was not clear
whether he had legal representation.
"It's just shocking to me," said 15-year-old Dashawn Golding,
who said his mother is Thomas' girlfriend. "She's crying a lot,"
he said of his mother.
A woman who answered the phone where neighbors said Thomas lived
with his girlfriend said she was devastated.
"I almost died," the woman told The Associated Press before
she hung up without giving her name. "I'm scared to walk out my
door. I'm just as innocent as the next person."
The woman, who said she met Thomas outside a hospital where she
works, said Thomas' 5-year-old son was crying when he learned of
the charges. There was a heavy police presence Saturday as
investigators searched the house, a yellow colonial with blue
shutters and a security sign on the front lawn.
Lt. Julie Johnson said DNA was collected and subsequently
matched by the state police forensic lab confirming Thomas was the
East Coast Rapist. Investigators reportedly got Thomas' DNA off a
discarded cigarette.
Police have a warrant charging Thomas with first-degree sexual
assault and risk of injury to a minor and he was being held on $1
million bond, Johnson said. Authorities in Prince William County,
Va., are charging him with being a fugitive as well as rape and
abduction charges and use of a firearm while committing a felony.
The East Coast Rapist is wanted for 17 rapes and other attacks
in Connecticut, Maryland, Rhode Island and Virginia that began in
1997. The cases were linked by DNA.
Authorities recently put up electronic billboards in the states
where the attacks occurred and neighboring states. U.S. Marshal Joe
Faughnan said a tip from Prince William County directed them to
Thomas.
"Although the information and investigation of Thomas developed
quickly over the last week or so, we should point out that
investigators worked tirelessly for years pursuing this case,"
Johnson said. "This was truly a joint collaboration on all levels.
We are proud of our investigation and hope the arrest of Aaron
Thomas brings some closure to our victims and our communities."
Johnson did not take questions during the brief news conference.
A neighbor said Thomas was living with a woman in the house in a
desirable neighborhood not far from where the mayor lives. The
woman, who refused to give her name, said Saturday that Thomas is a
truck driver and parked his tractor-trailer in the residential
neighborhood, but he seemed to be unemployed and would offer to
paint or rake leaves for neighbors.
The woman said Thomas once punched her husband in the face after
they got in an argument over his truck.
Another neighbor said Thomas would ride his bicycle as far as
Hartford and jogged many miles.
"He liked working out," said the neighbor, who would only give
his first name as Jason. "He could run all day long and never
stop."
Thomas was not entirely unknown to law enforcement: He had been
arrested in September in Woodbridge, Conn., on a larceny charge and
was released on $1,000 bond, according to public records.
He had lived previously at addresses in Maryland and Virginia,
according to public records.
The assailant eluded police even though the crimes were often
committed outdoors, law enforcement officials say.
In some instances, the attacker wore a mask or hooded sweat
shirt to conceal his face. He typically approached women outdoors
on foot and threatened them with a knife, screwdriver or a handgun,
investigators say.
The only attack in New Haven came on Jan. 10, 2007. Police said
the suspect entered a 27-year-old woman's bedroom through an open
window and threatened to kill her sleeping infant son before
assaulting her.
The last known attack occurred on Halloween night in 2009, when
two teenagers on their way home from trick-or-treating in
Woodbridge, Va., were raped, authorities say.