Alleged serial rapist in custody, accused in Fort Worth 2010, 2011 cold cases
An alleged serial rapist who is accused of attacking women in 2010 and 2011 in Fort Worth was in custody Thursday after detectives say DNA linked him to the crimes.
An additional 2011 Fort Worth case also has been linked to the suspect, Pedro Samarrippas, who lived in the Fort Worth area from 2003 to 2014, Fort Worth police said.
Detectives believe that there could be more victims of crimes committed by the suspect during the time he lived in the Fort Worth area.
Samarrippas also is a suspect in a 2002 sexual assault in McAllen, Texas, where he was recently arrested.
Samarrippas was in the Fort Worth Jail on Thursday after detectives brought him back to Tarrant County to face charges in the sexual assault cold cases.
Samarrippas was arrested Feb. 24 in McAllen on two Fort Worth warrants for sexual assault.
Fort Worth police did not release any details on the two attacks which occurred in 2010 and 2011.
Police officials said that the Texas Rangers had received a grant allowing police agencies like Fort Worth to conduct comparisons of unknown DNA through the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) to help identify suspects in unsolved sexual assault cases.
That’s what was used to track down Samarrippas, Fort Worth police said.
Fort Worth police asked that anyone who may have been a victim of Samarrippas to call at 817-392-4351 or Tarrant County Crime Stoppers at 817-469-84
