UPDATE: Investigators now say the suspect in last night's rape in Armour Hills is the same as that in the previous four rapes in Waldo. He entered the home of last night's victim through an unlocked window.
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Kansas City Police are investigating an overnight rape that could be linked to others reported in the Waldo area.
A 33-year-old woman who lives alone in the 300 block of East 69th Terrace called police at 2:55 a.m. today, Feb. 22, to report she had been sexually assaulted. The victim said she had been asleep at about 1:30 a.m. when she awoke to a heavy-set black male beside her bed. The man sexually assaulted her until 2:55 a.m. He left, and the victim called police.
Police are investigating the possibility that the suspect is the same man responsible for previous rapes in the same area both because of similar descriptions of the suspect and the similar locations of the crimes. Prior sexual assaults were reported on Jan. 23 and 24 in the 8300 block of Mercier Street and 10 block of East Porte Cimi Pass, respectively. Similar assaults also took place in the 7500 block of Summit on Sept. 29, 2009, and in the 100 block of East 78th Terrace on Oct. 11, 2009.
Police ask residents of the area to ensure their doors and windows are locked. In some of the previously reported sexual assaults, the suspect entered through unlocked windows and doors. Police also are available to conduct free security surveys of residents’ homes to point out possible security weaknesses. Contact the Community Interaction Officer in the patrol division in which you live (for patrol division boundaries and Community Interaction Officer contact information, go to www.kcpd.org) to schedule a security survey.
Victims of previous sexual assaults in the area described the suspect as a black male about 6 feet tall and 250 pounds with a bald head and pitted cheeks. They said he had a deep, smooth voice, bad breath and his clothes smelled like exhaust fumes. He told one victim he is 27 years old, but police believe he is older.
Police also request that anyone who thinks they may have seen anything – a car driving by or person walking – in the area of the assault last night call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477). Officers will increase patrols in the area.
