The suspect in the Pennypack Park Trail slashings is now accused of raping multiple women and murdering a woman in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park two decades ago.
Elias Diaz, 46, was arrested Sunday, Dec. 17, after he allegedly slashed two people with a knife and threatened another person in separate incidents on the Pennypack Park Trail back in November.
On Dec. 19, Philadelphia Police said Diaz was also a person of interest in the rapes of two women and the rape and murder of 30-year-old Rebecca Park in Fairmount Park in 2003. DNA evidence obtained from Diaz linked him to the 2003 attacks, investigators said.
?Everything we have at this point leads us to believe that Mr. Diaz is also involved, or a person of interest, regarding the murder of Rebecca Park which occurred in July of 2003, as well as possibly two or three other sexual assaults that occurred in Fairmount Park over a period of time," Stanford said at the time.
On Dec. 20, the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office announced Diaz was officially charged with murder, rape, aggravated indecent assault, possession of an instrument of crime, abuse of corpse, tampering with evidence, indecent assault and recklessly endangering another person in connection to the rape and murder of Rebecca Park.
Finally, on Dec. 27, Diaz was formerly charged with three other sexual assaults, two that occurred in Fairmount Park in 2003 and one that occurred in Pennypack Park in 2007.