Police have DNA profile of Princeton jogger’s killer

By: The Associated Press / Reporting by Kirsten Glavin

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PRINCETON, M.A. – Authorities say they now have a DNA profile of the person who killed a New York City woman out running near her mother’s Massachusetts home last summer.              

Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. said Thursday that the suspect in the killing of Vanessa Marcotte is a Hispanic or Latino man, about 30 years old, with light to medium-toned skin, and an athletic build.

"We’re asking the public’s help in locating the person of interest in the murder of Vanessa Marcotte," District Attorney Early Jr. said. "We’ve received over 13 hundred tips with regards to this homicide."            

Early said he would have had scratches on his face, neck, hands and arms after the Aug. 7 attack in Princeton.  Authorities previously said the suspect was driving a dark-colored SUV.              

The DNA has been passed through national criminal databases without a hit and Early did not have a name.

"What this does is it produces a potential visual of what the suspect may look like, with certain degrees of probability," explained Dennis Hilliard, the Director of the Rhode Island State Crime Laboratory at the University of Rhode Island.  

He told ABC6 News on Thursday that the profile might not be 100% reliable. "This is just a predictor of what they would look like if only the genetics occurred. But by human intervention and environmental intervention… things can change."

Hilliard continued to say that someone can alter their appearance by dying their hair a different color, or changing their diet and gaining weight. These types of outside factors have a substantial impact on profiling, regardless of if the biological features are accurate.   

"Any result is good," Hilliard added, saying he was hopeful.   

Marcotte grew up in nearby Leominster and worked as an account manager for Google in New York.

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