For 10 years the buffalo bike path rapist segment has been shown on unsol myst. within the last week fbi/and local authorities are closer than ever to catching their killer. here are the recent developments. they have linked a second murder to the bike path rapist from 1992 through dna . they have a total of 9 cases in all- 2 murders. fbi and buffalo police have released a new composite sketch. this is from the last know victim from 94. also they have him being of multiple races--this based on dna samples-----he is of caucasain, indian, african amer and asain ---yes of all four dna tests show. the last case took place in 1994--interestingly enough the killer dna has never matched up in any other cases outside of buffalo. the fbi feels that the killer is in jail...i will try to get a website with the new composite.

here's another link ////if you have media player it will play story and have composite on news video......

http://www.wivb.com/Global/story/.asp?S=2639118&nav=0RapTkN7

try wivb.com or

http//www.wivb.com/Global/story.asp?S=2642866&nav=0RapTmJ2

It appears that the rapest has struck again, this time unfortunately another murder. On Sept 29 a Clarence, NY woman Joan Diver,45 went missing on Sept 29 after a morning jog. Sadly her body was discovered off a popular bike path. The MO is very similar to the other two deaths linked to the "rapist". Stangulation and struck by blunt instument were causes of death,police did refuse to say if sexual assult was involed. Now authorities are not ready to link the murder to the "rapest", however one fact stands out like a sore thumb.....Diver went missing 16 years TO THE DAY UB student Linda Yalem went missing in 1990. Yalem as you may remember was was main victim focused on the UM segment back in 1994. Since the Yalem murder in 1990, a second murder was linked to the "rapist" by DNA. In all a total of 9 previous rapes (2 of which later were murders) have been attributed to this culprit between 1987 and 1994. DNA evidence should be back in a few weeks from the lap and will determin if in fact the "rapist" has struck again. My gut feeling is that it is the same person and the police know it is, but the don't want to send thee public in a panic prior to DNA results.
http://www.buffalonews.com.editorial/20061003/1023464.asp

Wow this guy has to be stopped. Is it possible that he was in prison for another crime for several years and then got out only to strike again? Or is it possible that he left the Buffalo, New York area for a few years and then moved back once all the publicity had died down? Are there other murders other than this very recent and tragic one that he is suspected of committing after the last few years? This one certainly carries the same M.O. and pattern as the other Buffalo bike path rape cases. It seemed this guy fell off the face of the earth around 1994 or so but apperantly he is back.

Wow this guy has to be stopped. Is it possible that he was in prison for another crime for several years and then got out only to strike again? Or is it possible that he left the Buffalo, New York area for a few years and then moved back once all the publicity had died down? Are there other murders other than this very recent and tragic one that he is suspected of committing after the last few years? This one certainly carries the same M.O. and pattern as the other Buffalo bike path rape cases. It seemed this guy fell off the face of the earth around 1994 or so but apperantly he is back.

The murder of Linda Yalem is the only killing he has been officially linked to. But I wouldn't be surprised if Joan Diver's killer turned out to be the bike path rapist. And if it is the same person, then it would be extremely obvious this leopard hasn't changed its spots.

The second official killing linked to the "rapist" was confirmed by DNA in 2004. The victim was a Buffalo prostitute (MayJane Mazur in downtown Buffalo by railroad tracks) in 1992. Ironically Diver husband, Steven Diver is a professor at UB, the school Linda Yalem attended. The Divers lived in Buffalo for only 5 years (both originally from Utah)...so oviously there is no connection between victims, which police explored earlier. The local tv stations have confirmed a rape kit was used by authorities , with the body being found partially nude.
Now to answer your question KADRMUS 15, the FBI ran a DNA check previously serveral years ago to any criminal in country in jail to match DNA, no match was made.

Wow well that is kind of scary they couldnt find a match. That means that he has never been in prison or at least hasnt been in prison in a state that requires DNA testing of their prisoners. This would tell me that either he is responsible for killings in the Buffalo area and western New York that havent been conclusively linked to him yet or when the publicity got really big back in the early to mid 90's he actually moved to a different area for a few years to let the publicity die down and now he is back.

If in fact this is the same man, anyones guess or reason why the 12 year gap between "callings" would be reasonable. I for the most part I'm shocked to here he could be back. I felt just resently that we probably seen the last of him back in 94, oviously as we learned with serveral serial killers in the past there is no time constraint with the killers.

Over the weekend police DNA test came back and guess what- NO other DNA on the body of Mrs Driver that would lead them to a suspect , or at least one to match -up DNA. There was no evidence of sexual assult. So were does that lead us, another unsolved mystery apparently. Basically were left with 2 mysteries, who killed Diver, and most of all was this the work of the infamous 'Bike Path Rapist".

Wow that is weird. No signs of sexual assault but besides that it was the same M.O. as the bike path rapist right? I still think it very well could have been the Bike path rapist despite the fact there was no rape. It could be he got scared off or something. I think the Buffalo police if they havent already should check other major cities in the country to see if any rapes and murders match this same pattern. If he has come back to Buffalo after all that time that would be incredible. No one would have expected it. It would make sense though, move away from Buffalo when the publicity builds up and move away for a few years to allow the publicity to die down and then once it does move back. I am sure if this was the bike path rapist that he did the same stuff where ever he moved to. It is also evident he has not been in prison for sure not since they started taking DNA from prisoners.

I know for a fact when Amherst Police (investigated Yalem murder by UB-were UB is located) put out DNA info on rapist in 2004, they had infact checked with other police districts (incl FBI) around the country but no definitive similar unsolved killing or serial killings could be related to these attacks/murders.

Wow that is just weird then. I honestly cant think of what this guy was doing then. I mean is it possible he actually stopped for a few years? Maybe he went to Canada for a while? I am trying to figure it out. Maybe he just got more careful. Who knows? I do know at least one state California, does not require their prisoners to give DNA if they do not want to give a sample. It has happened too where maybe he got bored with the rape part of it and just switched to killing his victims? There are a number of possiblities here. What do you think?

I guess the best answer is, the possibilities to this case are infinite. He could be anyone living in the community, having a clean police record, which explains to no DNA matches to other criminals. Chances are he's a clone of the BTK case. Led a double life for decades, a family man,a community leader, someone no one would have suspected. The only thing that I could add is he knows these bike paths inside out for him to so "clean" with these attacks, which then leads me to believe he has to live in the area.

Today the Erie County Sheriff and local Buffalo FBI officials confirmed what already mostly everyone in the area feared the most. The return of the Bike Path Rapist. DNA evidence from the Joan Diver murder scence confirmed DNA matches the previous 9 other rapes, 2 of which were murders. Thus Diver is now officially the 10th victim linked to the attacker, and 3rd murder victim. The only difference is that there was no sexual assult on Diver...just physical assult. Here's a web link http://www.wgrz.com/

Oh god, the composite of this guy was the number one reason I had trouble sleeping in 1996. It was extremely dismaying that he didn't get caught from the show and it's frightening that he's still killing to this day. It's been TWENTY years since his first attack!

Wow Buffalo Bill this is indeed a shocking development. So this guy has been linked to cases going as far back as 1986 from what I read. Do they suspect him in any cases that happened before that? As the cops have said they are curious where he was in the 12 years from 1994 to 2006. That is an interesting point that it could be that he simply didnt rape or kill anyone during that time. It appears that as he has went along that he has become more violent in his behavior and has now evolved from a rapist into a full blown killer. Could it be that in 94 when the attention and publicity on the case was so great that he simply practiced great restraint until the publicity died down? Or did he move to another area for a few years in a completely different part of the country and do this stuff somewhere else? I have a hard time believing he stopped completely for 12 years but it is possible. Now he is back. He must be well into his 50's by now.

Wow, looking at the composite sketch of that guy still scares the crap out of me. Especially his eyes! Apperantly he claimed that he had served time in prison for rape and murder before. However if this did in fact happen he must have done it elsewhere outside of New York or before they took DNA samples from inmates. It is also thought that he has served time in the military and possibly also has medical training of some kind. In the mid 90's he was described as being 30 to 40 years old. So that would make him probably anywhere from 42 to 52 years of age now. I guess it is possible he could have been in prison before but clearly he has not been in there lately unless he was in prison in Canada where they have more lenient sentences. It is also possible he could have been making the prison story up in order to try to get the woman to think that so she would tell the cops and they would waste their time looking through the prison system and he could throw them off his trail.

Well AMW is going to profile this case tonight:
http://www.amw.com/fugitives/brief.cfm?id=41726

It wasn't on tonight's show and it's listed as "Web Exclusive" on the website, but I'm hoping it will be on next week's show. We'll know on Friday.

The WGRZ-TV Ch 2 news tonight had one of the executive producers of AMW tonight. He said they will be filming this week for next Sat nights show, so they will have an extensive piece on the return of the "Rapist" in one week.

Okay, thanks Buffalo Bill. Sorry for jumping the gun everyone. I saw it on the front page at AMW and had assumed it would be on but I should have looked closer b efore jumping the gun. It will be on next week so that is good. They seem to think they may have seen this guy's truck this time. They had an updated composite I beleive and stuff. It does look similar to the first composite although obviously he has aged considerably. What do you think about the whole case Buffalo Bill? The rapist seems to becoming even more violent with his behavior. It is still incredible this 12 year break. Where this guy was during those 12 years, who knows? I still cant believe that he wasnt involved in other crimes elsewhere. I think it is likely that he moved elsewhere when the publicity heated up too much.

Maybe the rapist didn't disapear for 12 years afterall. Police now say they have been contacted by a few woman, the last of which in the late 1990's that more than likely encountered the rapist, but the attacker never carried out his intentions. Also this week, a report from Evans,NY puts probable connection to the rapist attacks in 1984 to a teenage girl. So when you do a little math here 1984- and this is almost 2007, your talking at least 23 years of terror. Wow!!! Here's the link to a WBEN -AM in Buffalo interview with a woman who encountered the rapist in 1996. The rapist oviously got cold feet. Its chilling the way she described the events. http://www.wben.com/news/fullstory.php?newsid=06301

Wow that is just amazing. A stretch from 1984 to 2006, 22 years of terror. It is actually rare that someone can go this long without being caught. Hopefully his days of freedom are numbered after he is profiled on AMW. I read that link you posted Buffalo Bill and it said the woman in the late 90's that thinks she encountered him said that he was holding a rope in one hand and thirty keys in the other. Sounds like he just lost his nerve several times. He was still prowling for victims those 12 years as you said it is just he didnt follow through on what he wanted to do. What towns have been hit so far? Suburbs around Buffalo and inside Buffalo city itself right? Any small towns outside of the Buffalo metro area?

April 1996 would be only weeks after he was profiled on UM. I'm amazed that he'd be on the prowl so soon after the case made national waves, but perhaps that was the reason he chickened out.

How I hope he gets caught soon. I would not want to be a woman and anywhere near Buffalo.

The link to the interview did not work for me - any tips for those that it did work for?

Hi! All-just happened on this forum- there's an America's Most Wanted show this Sat. night featuring The BPR cae-also Geraldo is doing something on it-also heard Dateline NBC is too-
Have been seeing a lot about the BPR case on the AMW forums-2 threads going there-
I lived near the Clarence Bike Path-used to go there with my girlfriend and our kids...went there after Joan was murdered-now it's very quiet-no one walking alone there-it seems everyone is afraid now to go anywhere alone-
I did an article for our local paper on Safety Tips for walking/jogging/cycling for women..we have a canal bike path-and i'm as guilty as anyone else of not practicing safe walking-i cycle and jog a lot alone on our bike path-(it also has a woods on the one side)-but no more-i'm very careful now..

LE now are wondering if the BPR will once again start his attacks-he did this one in Set. if he runds true to his MO/signature he'll wait months/years before another one-if he's not caught first-or if he does another attack soon-he may do one in spring-the past 10 attacks attributed to him-all happened between April-Oct...he'd be in his 50's now i'd say..

All i know is-i want this guy caught-enough is enough-holding women and an area in fear for over 20 yrs.-this guy has arrogance and staying power-and has somehow managed to elude capture-right now-they are looking for a white Ford Ranger truck-that was seen at Clarence Bike Path at time of Joan's attack/murder.
Below is the latest on this BPR:
The "Bike Path Rapist" has been described as a:

White Male

Height: 5‘5"-5‘9"

Black wavy hair.

Suspect has had a mustache in the past. Victims have also described his thick eyebrows.

During the attacks in the 1980s and 1990s victims thought that the attacker was approximately between 28 and 40 years old. Today he could be between 45 and 60 years old.

The attacker lost the ability to produce sperm between 1992 and 1994.

His blood type is O.

The dates and locations of known attacks are:

!984-a 14 yr. old girl in Angola reported an attack-LE suspect it may have been BPR-but no DNA was found-similar MO however as BPR>

Jun 12, 1986 - Delaware Park, Buffalo, NY


Jul 14, 1986 - near Frontier H.S., Hamburg, NY


Jun 10, 1988 - near Riverside H.S., Buffalo, NY


May 1, 1989 - near Riverside H.S., Buffalo, NY


Aug 24, 1989 - Willow Ridge Bike Path, Amherst, NY


May 31, 1990 - Ellicott Creek Bike Path, Amherst, NY


Sep 29, 1990 - Amherst Bike Path, Amherst, NY


Nov 1992 - Off Exchange St, Buffalo, NY


Oct 19, 1994 - Riverside Section, Buffalo, NY

April 1996-Lackawanna, NY Woman named 'Laura' may have had a near failed attempted attack-on a bike path-by BPR-she reported it to Amhearst and local LE. Same MO/everything-he would-be attacker had a ligature rope in one hand and a ring of 30 keys in other when she observed him waiting for her on bike paht. She managed to escape before he attacked.

Sep 29, 2006 - Clarence Bike Path, Newstead, NY

Anyone with information about the bike path murder of Joan Diver in the Town of Newstead should call the Erie County Sheriff‘s Office through the confidential tip line at (877) 277-1990.

Any information, no matter how trivial you might think it is, may help in the investigation.

Below is a website showing new interactive map that shows 10 of known BPR attacks:
http://www.wgrz.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=42763&provider=top

Welcome Katwoman,
I'm just curious if you knew Joan Diver. Also I've been wondering this all along. If mostly the same people use the clearence bike path, If there was a stranger in the vicinity that day or in that period wouldn't he have stood out ? Now lets face it, Clarence is mainly a white community, the Rapist is mixed being 50% white/ rest I believe he is of Native American/Latino...With the woman in lancaster saying he was of dark complextion , cant we asume he would stick out like a sore thumb in Clarence...just some food for thought.

I'm the daughter of an amherst capt. and I just thought I would let you all know that the Amherst Bike path rapist has been caught. It was some crane operator in the area. From what my father has told me his DNA matched all the cases that were previously linked to the killer. Total he killed three women and assulted six more. Unfortunatly the statute of limitations has passed for all of the rapes but he will still be tried for the three murders which should leave him in jail for the rest of his life.

Great news! I hope this scumbag gets what he deserves :mad:

That is great news he was caught. It looks like he has gone bald since he was profiled on UM in the mid 90's but his face still looks very much the same. His eyes really creep me out. I am no fan of the DP and am against it. However especially in cases like this I would think even DP light New York might use their DP powers with a guy like this. Are they going to pursue the death penalty or life without parole? I dont think they had life without parole though until the mid 90's so he would probably only get lwop with the latest murder and get 25 years to life sentences on everything else. I heard New York ruled the death penalty unconstitutuional in 2004 but yet the state still has it I heard. If they were ever going to use it, this would be the guy to use it on. However they could only use it on the latest murder because the DP wasnt in effect when he committeed the other homicides. He is a husband and father which is scary.

There is no more provition for the death penalty in NY State. However there is special circumstances act were the death penalty can be saught for serial killers and cases were there was extreme torture involved in a murder. I believe they can still persue prior rape cases if they have concrete DNA proof, unfortunately I'm not entire sure if that can persue it in these cases.

Send him on down to Lincoln here.......we're the only state in the union that still uses the electric chair as our sole method of execution......I'm sure ol' sparky wouldn't mind.......

In fact, it would probably be pretty fitting, considering the last three or four scumbags to sit in the chair were convicted of pretty horiffic rapes themselves......

Hmm, well that is interesting about New York State. Well even when prosecutors could use it freely they rarely did. I believe when it was ruled unconstitutional there was only 7 men on death row in New York anyway. I believe there is only one on death row now, that guy that shot up the Wendy's in Queens. I could be wrong though. It would be interesting if the state could pursue the DP against the Bike Path Rapist.

It would be interesting if the state could pursue the DP against the Bike Path Rapist.

If they do, it could only be for the 2006 murder of Joan Diver. The other two murders linked to the Bike Path rapist occurred before 1995, when New York reinstated the death penalty. In other words, New York's death penalty laws are not retroactive.

I have to admit that all this talk on New York's death penalty reminds me of an episode of CSI: Miami, where David Caruso and Gary Sinise acknowledge the status of capital punishment in their respective states:

Horatio Caine: "As you know, Florida has the death penalty."
Mac Taylor: "So does New York."
Horatio: "Yes, but you have not executed since '76."
Mac: "Politics."

Well actually that is technically true about New York not having executed since 1976. I am assuming David Caruso aka Horatio Caine meant NY hadnt executed since the Supreme Court reversed itself and ruled the death penalty constitutional in 1976. However I believe New York actually has not executed since 1963. Nelson Rockefeller was the last governor to sign a death warrant in New York. Kane in your stomping ground in Massachusetts didnt you guys actually come close to bring back the death penalty in the late 1990's after the Jeffrey Curley murder? I thought it failed by one vote from passing in the state senate because one guy changed his vote? Or was that the state house? It seems it is one notorious case that gets the dp brought back in a lot of these states. In New York it was probably Collin Ferguson and Joel Rifkin both of whom were arrested in 1993. In Wisconsin they are making a push to bring back the death penalty because of Steven Avery. However the Bike Path rapist as Kane mentioned would only be eligible for the death penalty for his most recent murder. For the first two murders he probably would get a sentence of 25 years to life because did they have LWOP at the time of those or did they not bring that back until they brought the death penalty back in 1995?

Kane in your stomping ground in Massachusetts didnt you guys actually come close to bring back the death penalty in the late 1990's after the Jeffrey Curley murder? I thought it failed by one vote from passing in the state senate because one guy changed his vote? Or was that the state house?

We did. In November 1997 (just one month after two degenerates murdered 10-year-old Jeffrey Curley), Massachusetts came extremely close to reinstating the death penalty. Rep. John Slattery initially voted in favor of it, but changed his vote at the last minute. This resulted in an overall tie in the state house, and that's what struck the bill down.

I feel kind of bad for you Kane because without getting into politics too much you seem to be very different than most of the people in your state. You must really love Massachusetts to stay there. Especially your new governor, Yikes! Without saying the exact thing he did he reversed a very critical and important decision Mitt Romney had made only weeks before leaving office. I actually have considered going to Boston for law school but dont know if I could stand the political climate there. Anyway thanks for clearing up the dp thing in MA. I imagine a lot of people were furious with Slattery. I am glad that MA did not bring back the DP though and that they certainly didnt bring it back because of one case. It seems New York has largely got rid of their DP and I think New Jersey is probably going to get rid of theirs entirely probably b y the end of this year. With the exception of Michael Ross who was executed in Connecticut in 2005 because he ended his appeals a person hasnt been executed in any of the New England states since I believe 1963. I could be wrong on the date but before Ross no one had been executed in New England since 1963. I dont see anyone getting executed in NE anytime soon unless they end their appeals like Ross. There is only one guy on death row in New York, the guy who shot up the Wendy's in Queens a few years ago I believe. New Jersey lets people off their row all the time and I just dont see them keeping their DP. I think New Hampshire has the dp still as well but they have not executed anyone since the 1960's I dont think.

Well, on another site a few hours ago I read there is a current penalty phase in a federal trial in New York with the prosecutors asking for the death penalty. I don't think the jury has offered its recommendation yet. The guy was convicted of killing two detectives, something like that.

It should be noted that both New York and Massachusetts have had Republican governors for more than a decade until this month. Spitzer and Patrick just took office. Before that you had four straight terms of GOP governors in Massachusetts and Pitaki served three terms. It's been the state legislatures that have ruled against the death penalty in those states. That's where the GOP has always argued the power should be focused, in the legislatures. That was certainly the argument in 2000, in fact that the electoral votes could be allocated to Bush by the state legislature in Florida, regardless of how the vote count ended up after the recount.

So if you want the death penalty or other changes then prioritize taking over the state houses. Fairly basic.

Hey Awsi, well yes you are right. After Dukakis left office in Massachusetts in 1991 you had 16 years of GOP governors. Bill Weld, Paul Celluci, Jane Swift and Mitt Romney. Now you have Deval Patrick who is the first dem governor since Dukakis.

The GOP levels in the Massachusetts legislature are pretty pathetic. I mean I think as of today there are 19 republicans in the state house and 5 or 6 republican state senators. New York is a little better. In New York the republicans actually still control the state senate and have since 95 however the dems control the state assembly and have blocked dp attemps. I dont know if the GOP had control of the NY state assembly after the 94 elections or not but I know that the GOP has had control of the state senate there since 95.

The GOP also lost control of the state legislature in New Hampshire in the 06 election. The GOP is in pretty sorry shape in New England and I see it getting worse.

As for Wisconsin they are another state where they had a GOP controlled state legislature both house and senate were GOP controlled before the 06 election and in response to the AVery arrest they passed a death penalty iniative to be voted on by the public. In the 06 election it passed with I want to say around 60 percent give or take a percentage point or two. However the measure did not bring the death penalty back but rather required the legislature to debate the issue and seriously consider it. However the GOP while they still control the state house they control it by single digits and they lost control of the state senate. Even if the dems in the state senate passed something the governor there is dem and has said he would veto any legislation bringing back the death penalty.

Here in Minnesota the GOP lost control of the state house in the election so any chance the DP had of being brought back here is gone. But the DP does not have better than marginal support anyway. They did a poll that showed if it was given to the public for a vote 46 percent would vote against it and 44 percent would vote for it it would be the the people that hadnt made up their minds that would make the difference.

As for the federal thing you mentioned the feds can pursue the death penalty on anyone in any state regardless if that state has the dp or not. Because the feds can pursue it anywhere like they did in a non death penalty state in North Dakota last year with Alfonso Rodriguez who kidnapped, raped and murdered Dru Sjodin back in 03. Last year Rodriguez was the first person sentenced to death in North Dakota in 100 years when he was convicted on federal charges.

I feel kind of bad for you Kane because without getting into politics too much you seem to be very different than most of the people in your state. You must really love Massachusetts to stay there. .
Yes, I love Massachusetts enough to continue living here. There's just no other place I'd rather live.

Unfortunately for a lot of people in my home state, I am generally conservative. But I have accepted the fact that I am different from a considerable number of Bay State residents. I think for myself, and I'm not one to change my way of thinking just to "fit in."

I actually have considered going to Boston for law school but dont know if I could stand the political climate there.

I won't blame you if you don't come to the Bay State.

I imagine a lot of people were furious with Slattery.

Many people were, and understandably so. The mere fact that Slattery changed his vote at the last minute led some to believe that he did so because he was bought off by promises of political or personal gain. But I don't know of any evidence to back up this allegation.

Moral issues like the death penalty have become more political than they really have to be. The debate is endless. But if there is anything that both supporters and opponents of capital punishment can agree on, it is that they cannot stand people who constantly flip-flop on the issue.

Back to thread topic: When I see the photos of the man they arrested in the case, I keep thinking of the composite drawing of the suspect. What catches my attention about the man is that his eyes look a lot like the eyes of the suspect in the composite drawing.