Reporter at News 5 Cleveland
Six weeks after a woman was strangled while running on the Towpath Trail in Akron, there is a reward on the table to help identify her attacker.Summit County Crimestoppers is offering a reward of up to $2,000 for information that solves the disturbing crime.
The victim, a 26-year-old woman, told News 5 that she's pleased about the new effort to generate leads.'I feel really happy that they are really taking this serious,' she said.The attack happened around 8:20 p.m. on June 28 on the trail near W. Bartges Street.The woman was on an evening run when a stranger grabbed her, knocked her to the ground and started strangling her.RELATED: Woman strangled by stranger on Towpath Trail in Akron'He shoved me from behind. He started pressing really hard,' she said. 'That's when I realized he just was a psychopath, that he just wanted to kill me for no reason.'She was knocked unconscious, but a doctor who happened to be walking on that section of the trail witnessed part of the assault, which scared off the attacker.The victim said she no longer runs outside and is now taking self-defense classes.'I've been having anxiety,' she said. 'I stress every time, like, I walk to my parking lot here.'Lt. David Whiddon said he's very concerned that the man could strike again.'For something like this to happen, it's very concerning. I mean, I can't think of anything more concerning than being assaulted by a complete stranger like this on the Towpath,' Whiddon said.Whiddon said likely DNA from the suspect was found on the victim's hands. The DNA was submitted to a national database known as CODIS , but no matches have been found yet.'Sometimes we get a match right away. Other times, it takes a while for the system to catch up with the match and confirm the match,' Whiddon said.The strangulation happened near a vacant brick building that is partially boarded up but it also has multiple broken windows.The victim believes her attacker came from that building.'I think he was, like, kind of hiding there to wait for me,' she said.When asked about the building, city officials said they planned to send inspectors on Friday to determine if they need to issue orders to secure the building and check on the integrity of the structure.Securing the suspect is a top priority for police. Whiddon estimates that about 100 hours have been put into the investigation so far.He also believes it's possible that other people may have had interactions with the suspect or observed suspicious behavior by him on the Towpath Trail.'We really don't have somebody we're zeroing in on. Hopefully, that will change. Hopefully, that will change soon,' Whiddon said. The victim is also hoping for a break in the case soon.'It's definitely important to catch this guy,' she said.The victim, who suffered scratches to her left wrist and elbow and a red mark on her right collarbone, was only able to give a vague description of her attacker. Anyone with information on the case is asked to call Summit County Crimestoppers at 330-434-COPS.
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