Courtesy of Telepictures Productions/Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution
Karina Vetrano is seen in this surveillance clip jogging at 5:45 p.m. on Aug. 2. Her battered body was discovered hours later in nearby Spring Creek Park.
By Michael V. Cusenza
It has been more than six weeks since the murder of Karina Vetrano, and it seems that the case that has rocked Howard Beach and inflicted irreparable damage on her family is gradually growing as cold as Jamaica Bay in January.
Once the picture of optimism, the investigation’s dead ends have left Karina’s father, Phil Vetrano, reeling.
“Another day gone by and no closer,” he posted last Wednesday to the GoFundMe page that hosts the Karina Vetrano Memorial Reward Fund, which has raised more than $300,000. “Please all look at that witness drawing, we need to speak to him. He might be our only lead.”
Detectives recently released a composite sketch of a man who they believe is a key witness to the brutal homicide. While the development sparked a marginal increase in tips, nothing has panned out, police said.
“It has not been going well,” Vetrano wrote on Sunday. “We need to find this killer. Please I know someone out there knows something, please say something.”
Later that day, Vetrano announced that the family is looking into other options.
“To all our loyal supporters, I am thinking of expanding our search with the help of some [private investigators],” he said. “This will cost a considerable amount. I am asking all of you to share with all you know. Let’s raise enough to get an army out there to track this scum down. Never forget.”
Karina, 30, was beaten, strangled, and sexually assaulted in the evening hours of Aug. 2 on her daily run inside Spring Creek Park.
On Wednesday morning, Phil Vetrano, who discovered his daughter’s battered body, had some choice words for her assailant:
“I will never rest until he is caught. So if you, the scum, are following this you already know the world is against you. We will find you and believe me you will pay.”
