Center City rapist suspect cleared

The man considered a possible suspect in the Center City rapist investigation was cleared of all suspicion over the weekend by a DNA test, Philadelphia Police officials said yesterday.

The Center City rapist, who remains at large, is believed to be responsible for five sexual assaults between 1997 and 1999 and the murder of Wharton doctoral student Shannon Schieber, 23, who was strangled in her apartment in 1998.

Police Commissioner John Timoney said at a press conference yesterday that the man -- identified as 27-year-old Karl Naylor, according to Homicide Lt. Joseph Maum -- was brought in last week on an outstanding arrest warrant related to a drug charge but was released over the weekend.

"That person was in police custody and a test was made and it's negative," Timoney said, refusing to confirm the identity of the man. "The words that tangentially connected him three years ago were tenuous at best."

According to authorities, Naylor was arrested in October 1999 for trespassing in the Rittenhouse Square area, where all of the attacks attributed to the Center City rapist occurred.

Naylor was released shortly after his arrest two years ago, but resurfaced as a suspect when a police officer reportedly remembered that Naylor said that he was from Colorado. Recent DNA tests from the scenes of Schieber's murder and the other five attacks linked the case to a series of sexual assaults that occurred in Fort Collins, Colo., this summer.

But after Naylor was arrested and questioned, a DNA test came back negative.

"Mr. Naylor has been more than cooperative with this investigation," Maum said.

Authorities had said last week that they were seeking Naylor for questioning, after an apparent revelation that he had ties to Colorado, but refused to release his name or photograph.

Yesterday, Timoney said outright that although Naylor was sought for questioning, he now has "no connection" to the case.

"If a name comes up and there's some kind of link or possible link, we'll go talk to this person," Timoney said, explaining why Naylor was looked at in the first place.

Timoney went on to say that the reports that Naylor is from Colorado are being looked into, but he could not confirm them.

Fort Collins Police Lt. Karen Carlson said her department was investigating Naylor but dropped the inquiry after the negative DNA test.

Timoney reiterated that authorities have followed "well over 700" leads in the case, some from "as far as Alaska."

"Lots of possible suspects have surfaced over the last three years," Timoney said.

Refuting that the latest dead end indicates a lull in the investigation, Timoney said that "at any given time there are three or four people we're looking at."

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.