The suspect in the murder of Shannon Schieber is described as 5'10" and about 25 years old. The Philadelphia Police Department released a composite sketch yesterday of the man suspected of murdering Wharton doctoral student Shannon Schieber last May and raping two other women in 1997. The suspect is either a light-skinned black man or a dark-skinned white man, about 25 years old, 5'10", with a thin build and short dark hair. One of the rape victims helped police prepare the sketch, which is the second major break in the 9-month-old investigation. Police have not identified any suspects in the case since naming and subsequently dismissing Schieber's former boyfriend a few weeks after her death. The friendly, outgoing and civic-minded Schieber, 23 -- a Duke University graduate who triple-majored in economics, mathematics and philosophy -- was strangled to death in her second-floor apartment on the 200 block of South 23rd Street on May 7 of last year at about 2 a.m. According to Philadelphia Police Det. Chuck Boyle, who is investigating the case, having the sketch will greatly increase the possibility of finding the suspect. "I would like to think [the composite sketch] would double our chances, as now we have something to work with," Boyle explained. Police distributed the composite sketch to the captains of the Sixth and Ninth districts, the University Police and the news media. They are also comparing it to probation and parole pictures in the hopes it will enable them to end the lengthy investigation. Police made the first substantial break in the case earlier this month when they linked Schieber's murder with the two 1997 rape cases through matching DNA samples collected at the crime scenes, all three of which occurred in the Fitler Square area. Although an autopsy showed that Schieber had not been sexually assaulted, police found semen on her bedspread, leading them to believe the killer ejaculated there after murdering her. Police also found blood with matching DNA near the sliding glass door through which they believe the killer entered the apartment. The semen and blood found at the scene allowed police to compare the killer's DNA with samples taken from 63 other crime scenes in the area that remain unsolved. The DNA link was first reported on February 12 by The Philadelphia Inquirer, which cited unnamed sources in its front page story. The PPD said at the time that the information damaged their ability to investigate the murder. Schieber's parents, Sylvester and Vicki, filed suit against the city in October, accusing the police of mishandling the original 911 call that brought police to Shannon Schieber's apartment the night that she was murdered. Police were called to the scene by a neighbor who heard screams emanating from the apartment but they left after no one answered their knocks on Schieber's door. The Schiebers contend that their daughter was still alive when police initially arrived. The Philadelphia Police Department has cleared the officers involved of any negligence in the case.
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