Police Search for More Clues in Diver Investigation Larry Haneberg, Webmaster Created: 10/1/2006 3:15:07 PM Updated: 10/8/2006 4:32:27 PM Erie County Sheriff's Investigators spent this weekend combing a bike path near the Clarence-Newstead border trying to find out who killed a Clarence mother of four. It has been over a week since Joan Diver was reported missing. A volunteer from a search party found her body last Sunday in thick brush off the bike path. A source within the investigation tells Channel 2 News there is no obvious sign of a sexual attack in the Joan Diver murder case. Initial DNA tests conducted from the crime scene were released Friday. A Sheriff's department spokesperson tells Channel 2 News the test results thus far do not link DNA evidence to any other local criminal investigation. That means, according to the spokesperson, officials have not been able to link DNA to known results in the DNA database. Erie County District Attorney Frank Clark also tells Channel 2 News Diver's husband, Steve, would not submit to a DNA swab. 2 on Your Side spoke with the Diver family attorney. He explained they just buried their wife and mother, are grieving, and not talking to the media. Investigators have also confirmed that they have obtained a search warrant for Joan Diver's SUV. The blue vehicle was found at the entrance to the Clarence bike path where Diver was found murdered. A Sheriff's department spokesperson says the search of the vehicle was to begin sometime Friday. Investigators say they have not spoken to Joan Diver’s husband in several days, allowing him time to grieve with his family. The funeral was held Friday. Investigators say they would expect to talk to him again after the funeral. The Diver family released this statement Thursday that was delivered by family spokesperson Huw Davies: "The Diver family would like to thank the community for their prayers and their outpouring support. Your love for Joan, and your concern for our welfare, overwhelm us. We want to thank all of those who helped to find Joan, especially the area fire companies, our local scouts, our community, our neighbors and our dear friends. Last, we thank the media; for their respect for our family's privacy during this devastating time. We love and miss Joan. Thank you for coming." Investigators spent much of day Wednesday at the University of Buffalo campus, where Steve Diver is a chemistry professor. They interviewed his colleagues and friends. Police have not searched the Diver home, although they have removed computers from the home. Police say Steve Diver was working on campus the day his wife was murdered. The focus now turns to who saw what near the Clarence bike path the day Joan Diver was murdered. The section of the Clarence bike path that was closed for the investigation has re-opened. Police say they have been contacted by national media interested in the possible link to the so-called bike path rapist, who attacked several women in the late 1980s and early 1990s. On the campus of UB, police say they've posted notices in all residence halls and buildings, warning students to stay safe and not travel alone. UB police are working with Amherst Police to increase presence on the bike path. While investigators acknowledge there are similarities, there are also differences in the Diver death and the cases from twenty years ago. Meanwhile, Joan Diver's family is arrived from Utah for the funeral. They say they first learned of her disappearance late Friday night in a phone call from the Erie County Sheriff's department. They say Joan and Steve Diver were married 16 years ago. Steve Diver came to the UB campus from Harvard five years ago. The couple has four children and Diver's attorney says he is speaking with investigators less so that he can have time to grieve with his family. A Clarence business owner started a reward in the hopes someone comes forward to help authorities crack this case. Dean Penman, owner of Seal & Design, Inc. in Clarence, has already organized a reward for $50,000. If you'd like to make a donation, please call 759-2222 during regular business hours. An autopsy on Diver's body determined that she died of strangulation and blunt force trauma, according to Erie County Undersheriff Richard Donovan. During a Tuesday morning news conference, Donovan also said they believe Diver's murder took place at that location, and that her body wasn't moved from a different location. Donovan did say it appeared Diver struggled with her attacker before she died. The Discovery Volunteers made up of family and friends, discovered Joan Diver's body Sunday afternoon just 20 feet from the bike path where she was last seen jogging. A source tells 2 On Your Side, her body was found partially clothed in thick, wooded brush. Joan Diver's husband Steve Diver, a UB Chemistry professor, identified her body one hour after she was found. He called police at 1pm Friday to report his wife missing. Hundreds of law enforcement officials and volunteers searched the entire 8-mile trail of the Clarence bike path on Saturday. Diver regularly runs on the path. But according to authorities no sign of Diver was found. The search was called off by the Erie County Sheriff's Department on Saturday night. The Frustration Volunteers who searched for the body of Joan Diver told 2-On-Your-Side, they are frustrated police called off the search just 24 hours after they started looking for her. "There's some anger at authorities that they stopped when they could have gone further. I mean we are not professionals. We are just out here as a community trying to find someone who we miss very much and we love very much and we found her," said one volunteer searcher. Family and friends tell 2 On Your Side Joan Diver's kids were everything to her. "She was just one of those good Moms. One of those stay at home, do whatever you can, your kids are your life -- kind of Moms." According to the Erie County Sheriff's Office, there are no suspects at this time. Donations Donations to the Diver Family Fund can be sent to any of four Bank of Akron locations: 9865 Main Street Clarence, NY 14031 9470 Clarence Center & Goodrich Road Clarence Center, NY 14032 46 Main Street Akron, NY 14001 77 Buell Street Akron, NY 14001 2 On Your Side will continue to follow this story as developments occur. Stay tuned to wgrz.com for the latest information. http://www.wgrz.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=41557

Counseling Sessions For Clarence Community Posted by: Lynne Dixon, Reporter Created: 10/10/2006 9:31:14 PM Updated: 10/11/2006 11:49:31 AM Residents of Clarence still have so many questions. To help them in their search for answers, the Zion Lutheran Church has scheduled four counseling sessions, or meetings, where the community can come together and talk about what's bothering them. "I think the community as a whole, and the word I'm using is struggling, because at this point we're all searching for answers to questions that we might not have answers for," said Pastor Steve Biegner. The gatherings will be from 7pm to 8:15pm the next four Wednesdays at Zion Lutheran Church, 9535 Clarence Center Road. http://www.wgrz.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=41757

Still No Answers in Diver Murder Posted by: Robyn Young, Reporter Larry Haneberg, Webmaster Created: 10/1/2006 3:15:07 PM Updated: 10/11/2006 10:38:10 PM Dr. William Barney believes his daughter was killed by a predator. The father of Joan Diver spoke to Two on Your Side from his home in Salt Lake City, Utah. He says he's convinced it was a random act of violence. Says Dr. Barney, "I suspect so, although she may have been seen by some predator previously and (that person) had plans to do something. I'm certain it was no one in the family that did this. It was no one she had known." Dr. Barney also says the Diver family is staying away from any type of news report. "They're devastated, they don't watch the news, they don't read the newspapers. They're taking it a well as could be expected." Meantime, Erie County Sheriff's investigators spent Monday searching through Joan Diver's SUV. "I'm not going to go into at all what was found," said Lt. Ron Kenyon, who added that they swabbed surfaces in the vehicle for DNA tests. "We don't know yet what we have," he said. Investigators obtained a search warrant on Friday to look through Diver's SUV. Lt. Kenyon said they had performed brief searches inside the vehicle Friday, September 29, the day Diver was reported missing, and also on Saturday, but that they needed permission to conduct a complete forensics search. Click here to read the Diver Family Statement. Lt. Kenyon continues to say he does not believe that Joan Diver's husband, UB chemistry professor Steve Diver, was trying to delay the search by obtaining an attorney. "I still think they were real busy, and instead of keep hounding them for consent to get in the vehicle, we just obtained the search warrant for the vehicle," Lt. Kenyon said. The vehicle was found on Shisler Road at an entrance to the Clarence Bike Path. Lt. Kenyon said they still don't have any answers to reports that the vehicle might have been moved from one location along the bike path to another. Joan Diver's body was found by volunteer searchers two days after she disappeared, just off the bike path in Newstead. Authorities said she died from blunt force trauma and ligature strangulation, meaning something, like a rope, was used to strangle her. The first of several counseling sessions was held Wednesday night for a community trying to move forward in building trust again. Those sessions are being held from 7pm to 8:15pm the next three Wednesdays at Zion Lutheran Church, 9535 Clarence Center Road in Clarence. Over the weekend, Erie County Sheriff's investigators combed the bike path near the Clarence-Newstead border, trying to find out who killed the Clarence mother of four. They have not indicated that they found anything to help in their investigation, and on Tuesday, Lt. Kenyon said duct tape found near the scene is probably not related to the Diver homicide, because it was old and brittle. Initial DNA tests on Joan Diver reportedly show no foreign DNA on her body, but authorities said those tests are not yet complete. "The saddest part of all is cases like this often leave you with no workable evidence and without that you're stymied," said Erie County District Attorney Frank Clark. "We hope here that that's not the case." Furthermore, all evidence so far indicates that Joan Diver was not sexually assaulted, leaving investigators searching for a motive as well as evidence to establish the identity of the killer. Authorities have not yet named a suspect or even a person of interest in the case. They have repeatedly pointed out that Steve Diver was at work at UB the day that Joan went missing. There are ongoing questions about a possible link with the so-called bike path rapist, believed to be responsible for nine other attacks from 1986 to 1994, including UB student Linda Yalem, murdered along the Ellicott Creek Bike Path on the same day, September 29, in 1990. "I think we're leaning against it (a connection) at this point in time," Lt. Kenyon said. "Again, the forensics evidence we found so far does not link the Diver homicide to anything else, including the bike path rapist." However, he admitted they cannot rule that suspect out, with DNA evidence incomplete and inconclusive so far in the Diver investigation. On Monday, the Diver family released a statement to respond to questions about investigators waiting, after several requests to their attorney, to get permission to search Joan's vehicle, and to an apparent delay in Steve Diver agreeing to be swabbed for his DNA. Family Statement: The statement reads: "Although our family just said goodbye to Joan this weekend, we are hurt by some of the misinformation that appears to be circulating. We would like to provide some information and clear up some misunderstandings. When Steven got the call at work on Friday, September 29th that Joan had not picked up their four-year-old from preschool, he called 911, rushed to the preschool, then began to search for Joan. Steven knew that Joan would not leave their son at school and that something was wrong. After the police responded to Steven's 911 call, he spent approximately six hours with Erie County Sheriff's deputies. Steven provided all the information he could, answered any questions the sheriff's had, and traveled with them throughout the Clarence area looking for Joan. The sheriff's also obtained a statement from Steven detailing all of this information. Steven provided the sheriffs with their home computer and spare keys to Joan's Ford Explorer. Continuing on Saturday, September 30th, Steven continued to provide the sheriff's with any information they requested, and anything he could think of. The sheriffs had told Steven that they had searched Joan's truck, inventoried its contents and started forensic searches, including dusting of fingerprints. Joan's family and friends were disheartened when the sheriff's ended the search on Saturday night, especially with all the information that friends and family just recently offered. That is why Steven, with the help of many friends and neighbors, subsequently organized a volunteer search for Joan. There appears to be a misunderstanding concerning the search of Joan's truck. The Sheriff's office informed us on Saturday 9/30 that they searched, inventoried and tested the truck. They also had the spare keys. We were unclear why any consent was necessary at this point. We are glad to see that this has been cleared up and that the police have taken the necessary steps to continue the investigation. There also appears to be confusion about DNA evidence. The Buffalo News reported on Saturday morning that there was no DNA found, but other reports in the media suggest that law enforcement want a DNA sample from Steven. Because we want to keep the investigation moving forward, Steven will willingly provide his DNA. Hopefully this will help the police in focusing their investigation. Thank you to the Community for all your support, care and prayers. Your kindness and well wishes helps our family through this devastating time. We continue to love and miss Joan." Investigators said they plan to ask Steve Diver more questions, which they said is normal for such an investigation, and that they continue to interview those who knew Joan, whose funeral was just held on Friday. On the UB campus, police said they've posted notices in all residence halls and buildings, warning students to stay safe and not travel alone. UB police are working with Amherst Police to increase presence on the bike path. Joan and Steve Diver were married 16 years ago. Steve Diver came to the UB campus from Harvard five years ago. The couple has four children. A Clarence business owner started a reward, hoping someone comes forward to help authorities crack this case. Dean Penman, owner of Seal & Design, Inc. in Clarence, initiated the reward, which has hit $100,000. 2 On Your Side will continue to follow this story as developments occur. Stay tuned to wgrz.com for the latest information. http://www.wgrz.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=41557

DNA evidence emerges in murder and rape of Utah woman in New York LAST UPDATE: 11/17/2006 7:19:55 PM Story by: Reed Cowan reed@abc4.com Police in Buffalo, New York have used DNA technology to tie the murder of a Utah woman to the notorious bike path rapist. In September, Joan Diver went missing after beginning a jog along the bike path. For two days her family in Utah agonized as no word from their daughter came. Finally, two days later, William Barney of West Valley City got news. He told ABC 4 News what police told him. "She had been strangled and killed with blunt force trauma. She was found with part of her clothes torn." Barney went on to tell ABC 4 that his daughter died putting up a fight. Now, weeks later, word from Buffalo is that Diver's DNA matches other crimes connected to the bike path rapist. For now, police only have several persons of interest they wish to interview and no suspects. They are also acting on a tip that a white truck was seen leaving the scene on the morning Diver went missing. http://www.abc4.com/local_news/local_headlines/story.aspx?content_id=4D93EE37-7502-457B-9619-0946232E08DD

Lawyer For Alleged "Bike Path Rapist" Vows To Fight DNA Evidence Posted by: Stefan Mychajliw, Reporter Created: 1/15/2007 10:47:15 PM Updated: 1/17/2007 9:42:32 AM Altemio Sanchez, 48, pleaded not guilty in Erie County Court Tuesday morning to the murder of Majane Mazur, one of three people that investigators believed was killed by "the bike path rapist." Altemio Sanchez, 48, wore jeans and a black zippered sweater, and hung his head during the court appearance in front of Judge D'Amico in Erie County Court in Buffalo. Sanchez did not speak during the appearance. His attorney, Andrew LoTempio, entered the plea of not guilty on his behalf. According to Erie Co. District Attorney, Frank Clark, Sanchez was arraigned on the Mazur's murder because the evidence in her case was the most accessible. "We felt it was the quickest and easiest one for us to proceed upon.," said Clark, "With Yalem, there's a little bit of a glitch. The DNA that was taken there, the old test was performed, and while we can make a match based on the more modern test performed just recently, we would prefer to have the same test." "I think this is a shock to both him and his family. They had no idea that this was coming," said LoTempio, "He can't believe it's happening to him." Sanchez's wife and one of his sons watched his arraignment in the courtroom, against LoTempio's advice. "They demanded to be here because of Mr. Sanchez. They are 100 percent behind him, and the do not believe that any of this is true," he said. Also in court - a man who says his sister was raped by the bike path rapist and left for dead more than 20 years ago. As he watched Sanchez in court, he wondered how a man so average could have done what he's accused of doing. "After what he did he probably went home and took a shower and fed his kids and took them to school and maybe coached a team or something like that. I mean he was just someone who's living a normal life supposedly like us," he said. LoTempio asked the judge to request the prosecution save DNA evidence for the defense to test. The judge declined to, saying that was between the judge and prosecutors. LoTempio hinted that part of the defense strategy would be to challenge the way in which DNA was collected. (See related story) He also plans to challenge the way Sanchez's home was searched. Sanchez is being held without bail. Authorities say he's also the suspect in the 1990 rape and slaying of University at Buffalo student Linda Yalem in 1990 and last fall's strangulation of Joan Diver, a mother of four whose body was found along the Clarence bike path. "All of Erie County can rest easier today because the monster known as the Bike Path Rapist has been taken into custody," said Erie County Sheriff Tim Howard. "A great many people in Western New York can relax because we took this perpetrator into custody and eventually he will be brought to justice," said Buffalo Police Commissioner H. McCarthy Gipson. "This predator is off the street," added Amherst Police Chief John Moslow. Flanked by a plethora of police and wearing blue jeans and a black pull-over with a grey stripe going down both sleeves, 48-year-old Cheektowaga resident Altemio Sanchez, known by his neighbors simply as "Al," was taken from Erie County Sheriff’s Department offices on West Eagle to the Holding Center Monday night. Police announced the arrest naming Sanchez as the so called "Bike Path Rapist" at a news conference Monday afternoon. "Old fashioned police work looking back at old cases and modern technology with DNA brought this together," said New York State Police Major Michael Manning. Sanchez is married, and has two adult sons. "I'm sure they're absolutely in a state of shock right now," said Clark. Amherst Police did interview Sanchez after the killing of Linda Yalem, but did not place him under arrest. 2 On Your Side’s Scott Brown: "Why didn't he come onto your radar more strongly in the Yalem case?" Amherst Police Chief John Moslow: "If we had probable cause to make an arrest back then we certainly would have." http://www.wgrz.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=44168

Web Photo Shows Suspect on Night of Diver Murder Posted by: Collin Bishop, Special Projects Producer Created: 1/17/2007 5:22:00 PM Updated: 1/18/2007 12:09:22 AM A photo taken on the night of Joan Diver's murder shows the man police have identified as the Bike Path Rapist at a party. Police believe Diver was killed on the Clarence bike path in Newstead before noon on September 29, 2006. That night, Altemio Sanchez, the man police have identified as the Bike Path Rapist, was photographed at a party in Buffalo with his wife. The picture is posted on an MSN Groups site See the photo. You can also see the photo in our news story. Just click on the video link at the top right. Is it a picture of a cold blooded killer who committed murder just hours before? Or is it a photograph of an innocent man enjoying a night out with his wife? WEB EXTRA See what others are saying about the photo and case in our Bike Path Rapist Forum. What is known is that this is a picture of Altemio Sanchez. The man police and prosecutors believe is the so called "Bike Path Rapist". And it was taken just hours after Joan Diver was killed. An anonymous viewer alerted 2 On Your Side to a link for the photo on the internet. 2 On Your Side has spoken to four people who were at this party, including the person who took this picture. And they verified the party took place, and that Altemio Sanchez and his wife were there. The party was at the Lafayette Tap Room the evening of September 29th 2006. What potentially makes this picture so chilling is that September 29th, 2006 was the same day Joan Diver disappeared. The Clarence mother's body was found a few days later along the Clarence Bike Path. Investigators say DNA has linked Altemio Sanchez to the murder of Joan Diver and two other women. Investigators believe Diver was killed sometime between 8:30 am and 12:30 pm the morning of Friday September 29, 2006. That would mean the photo was taken less than 12 hours after police say Sanchez killed Joan diver. Erie County District Attorney Frank Clark saw the picture Wednesday afternoon. "If our theory is true, here's a picture of a man apparently socializing with people, having a good time, literally hours after he had committed a homicide. Does it surprise me? It does more than that. It scares me. That apparently is the face that he put forth to the world that you and I live in," said Clark. It was also shown to Sanchez defense attorney Andrew C. LoTempio. "We're denying that he was ever in the car or anywhere near her. The prosecution, and law enforcement, already convicted him. Our side of it (the picture) would be: does this guy look like someone who just murdered someone and who was in a struggle on a bike path? I'm getting letters from people saying they got the wrong guy," said LoTempio. As for the party, four people there told 2 On Your Side it was an informal reunion for people who once worked for a Buffalo company that has now closed. The party was originally planned for Friday October 6th, 2006, but was moved back one week earlier to September 29th because organizers didn't want the party on the same night as a home Buffalo Sabres game. The Buffalo Sabres hosted the Montreal Canadiens at HSBC Arena on Friday October 6th, 2006. In an another ironic twist, Kathleen Sanchez worked at that company located at 45 Oak Street. That's the very same building where police announced that her husband was in police custody. Erie County now leases office space at 45 Oak Street, and used the building to host the press conference announcing the arrest on Monday. http://www.wgrz.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=44232

Buffalo Suspect’s Uncle Misled Them in ’81, Officials Say By DAVID STABA Published: January 17, 2007 BUFFALO, Jan. 16 — A succession of rapes and killings stretching back a quarter-century might have been averted if the uncle of the man the police arrested this week had told the police the truth when detectives questioned him back in 1981, the authorities said on Tuesday. The uncle, Wilfredo Sanchez Caraballo, had been questioned in a 1981 rape in Delaware Park here, after the victim saw a man resembling her attacker at a shopping mall, followed him to his car and wrote down the license plate number. Mr. Caraballo owned the car, but he told the police the car had not been driven for a month, and when the victim was shown his picture, she said he was not the rapist. But Mr. Caraballo told officials this month that he had left out a crucial detail: he had lent the car to his nephew, Altemio Sanchez, on the day the victim spotted it at the mall. The police now say that Mr. Sanchez, 48, who pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to a charge of murder in the death of Majane Mazur in 1992, is the “Bike Path Rapist,” responsible for some nine attacks over a quarter-century, including the one in Delaware Park. “Did the uncle lie? Yes, he did,” said Frank Clark, the district attorney of Erie County, where all the attacks took place. “He said no one else used the car.” Asked whether the succession of attacks and slayings might have been prevented if the uncle had told the truth, Mr. Clark said yes. He also said that the statue of limitations on any charge of obstruction of justice had elapsed. Mr. Sanchez was arrested on Monday after DNA taken from dishes he used at a restaurant where he and his wife ate dinner on Saturday was matched to crime-scene evidence from Ms. Mazur’s killing, as well as two other killings, one in 1990 and another last September, and at least seven rapes that took place in the Buffalo area between 1986 and 1994, the police said. The victims ranged in age from 14 to 45. Each was attacked from behind on a weekday morning between May and October and led to a secluded spot, like a junked car, an abandoned building or heavy underbrush. In most cases, the victim’s mouth and nose were covered with tape and her hands bound. At Tuesday’s arraignment, Mr. Sanchez’s lawyer, Andrew C. LoTempio, said that Mr. Sanchez denied any connection to the attacks and that the defense would challenge the validity of the DNA evidence. “Just because law enforcement said there’s a DNA match doesn’t mean the testing was done right or ethically,” Mr. LoTempio said after the hearing. Judge Michael L. D’Amico refused Mr. LoTempio’s request to require prosecutors to preserve DNA samples taken from the slaying scenes so that they can be tested by defense experts. Mr. Sanchez, who wore a dark gray sweatshirt and jeans and appeared distraught, was ordered held without bail. Mr. Clark, the prosecutor, said Mr. Sanchez could be charged with one or both of the other killings in the next few days; the five-year statute of limitations on rape has expired. The authorities began investigating the unsolved 1981 rape earlier this month after forensic testing linked the Sept. 29 killing of Joan Diver, who lived in the Buffalo suburb of Clarence, with the earlier attacks. Mrs. Diver, a 45-year-old mother of four, was reported missing after she did not return from a morning jog along a secluded rural path, 16 years to the day after the rape and killing of a University at Buffalo student, Linda Yalem, who was attacked while jogging near the suburban campus. Mrs. Diver’s body was found two days later. A task force was formed after investigators found the forensic link between Mrs. Diver’s slaying and the earlier attacks. It began focusing on Mr. Sanchez two weeks ago, because of his record of two arrests for patronizing a prostitute, as well as DNA evidence and physical descriptions by rape victims indicating that the attacker might have been Hispanic. They contacted Mr. Caraballo, who now lives in North Carolina, as they reinvestigated all open rape cases. Mr. Caraballo could not be reached for comment for this article, but he was quoted on Tuesday in The Buffalo News as saying he regretted not being more forthcoming when he was interrogated in 1981. “If I knew he was doing all this raping, I would have reported it,” Mr. Caraballo told The News. Mr. Caraballo said his nephew told him at the time, “No, Freddie, I didn’t do anything wrong,” but, Mr. Caraballo told The News, “I didn’t really believe him because of his eyes.” “You know, when people lie, you can see it,” he continued. “I suspected something happened because the cops would never come to the house without a reason.” Mr. Sanchez talked with investigators for about 10 hours after his arrest on Monday morning before hiring a lawyer, Mr. LoTempio said, adding that he would seek to bar the use at trial of any statements Mr. Sanchez made to the police, as well as searches of his home and vehicles. Prosecutors have not offered an explanation for the 12-year gap between a 1994 rape and the killing of Mrs. Diver, or why she was the only victim who was not sexually assaulted. Before Monday’s arrest, law enforcement officials theorized that the suspect may have moved out of the area, died or been in prison. Mr. Sanchez has lived in the same quiet suburban neighborhood with his wife and worked at the same factory in Buffalo throughout the time span, Mr. Clark said. Mr. Sanchez did not speak during the hearing. “He’s emotional — crying, tearful and kind of sideswiped,” Mr. LoTempio said. “He can’t believe it’s happening to him.” Mr. Sanchez’s wife, Kathleen, and one of their two adult sons were seated in the courtroom and left after the hearing without talking to reporters. “She’s totally shocked, traumatized — she can’t believe it,” Mr. LoTempio said. “How would you feel? She had no idea there was an investigation going on around her husband.” http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/17/nyregion/17suspect.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Grand Jury Hears BPR Evidence Posted by: Stefan Mychajliw, Reporter Created: 1/15/2007 10:47:15 PM Updated: 1/18/2007 11:31:03 PM The man police have identified as the bike path rapist may be indicted as early as Friday. 2 On Your Side has learned that a grand jury was given the case against Altemio Sanchez on Thursday, and that it is hearing testimony related to the murders of Majane Mazur and Linda Yalem. The grand jury could decide as early as Friday whether to indict Sanchez for those two crimes. Prosecutors also now say that Sanchez was spotted on the Clarence bike path just weeks before Joan Diver was killed. 2 On Your Side’s Lynne Dixon asked Erie County District Attorney Frank Clark and Andrew LoTempio, Sanchez’s attorney, about the new information. Lynne: "That testimony about seeing him on the bike path weeks prior, did that come out after his arrest?" Clark: "The testimony with regard to seeing him on the bike path is something which was developed after Sanchez was focused in on as the person we were going to arrest." LoTempio: "But they're also saying we don't have enough to charge in the Joan Diver case and if we did it's only circumstantial. There's two homicide cases and nothing else, and they can speculate, fill people's heads with all the other stuff that he's committed every rape unsolved in the last 25 years." LoTempio says there is no evidence to charge Sanchez with the Diver murder. District Attorney Clark says investigators are working on that. Altemio Sanchez, 48, pleaded not guilty in Erie County Court Tuesday morning to the murder of Majane Mazur, one of three people that investigators believed was killed by "the bike path rapist." LoTempio says he does plan to move for a change of venue. "Do you really think this guy is going to get a fair trial here?" he questions. LoTempio says you would be hard pressed to go into a store or bar and not hear people saying, "thank God they got the guy." LoTempio says he also plans to challenge the collection and preservation of DNA that came from both the crime scene and the restaurant where Sanchez ate last weekend. "My question would be was it tainted, how was it handled, how was it collected, how was it stored, how many people touched it," said LoTempio. He said claims by investigators that there is a 100% DNA match aren't true because there is "no such thing." He said in describing a DNA match, it's typical that the likelihood is defined in odds, "one to a certain number they can eliminate the defendant or include him." LoTempio says his family continues to stand by him and will exhaust all resources to defend him. Altemio Sanchez, 48, wore jeans and a black zippered sweater, and hung his head during the court appearance in front of Judge D'Amico in Erie County Court in Buffalo. Sanchez did not speak during the appearance. His attorney, Andrew LoTempio, entered the plea of not guilty on his behalf. According to Erie County District Attorney Frank Clark, Sanchez was arraigned on the Mazur murder because the evidence in her case was the most accessible. "We felt it was the quickest and easiest one for us to proceed upon," said Clark. "With Yalem, there's a little bit of a glitch. The DNA that was taken there, the old test was performed, and while we can make a match based on the more modern test performed just recently, we would prefer to have the same test." "I think this is a shock to both him and his family. They had no idea that this was coming," said LoTempio, "He can't believe it's happening to him." Sanchez's wife and one of his sons watched his arraignment in the courtroom, against LoTempio's advice. "They demanded to be here because of Mr. Sanchez. They are 100 percent behind him, and the do not believe that any of this is true," he said. Also in court, a man who says his sister was raped by the bike path rapist and left for dead more than 20 years ago. As he watched Sanchez in court, he wondered how a man so average could have done what he's accused of doing. "After what he did he probably went home and took a shower and fed his kids and took them to school and maybe coached a team or something like that. I mean he was just someone who's living a normal life supposedly like us," he said. LoTempio asked the judge to request the prosecution save DNA evidence for the defense to test. The judge declined to, saying that was between the judge and prosecutors. LoTempio hinted that part of the defense strategy would be to challenge the way in which DNA was collected. (See related story) He also plans to challenge the way Sanchez's home was searched. Sanchez is being held without bail. Authorities say he's also the suspect in the 1990 rape and slaying of University at Buffalo student Linda Yalem in 1990 and last fall's strangulation of Joan Diver, a mother of four whose body was found along the Clarence bike path. "All of Erie County can rest easier today because the monster known as the Bike Path Rapist has been taken into custody," said Erie County Sheriff Tim Howard. "A great many people in Western New York can relax because we took this perpetrator into custody and eventually he will be brought to justice," said Buffalo Police Commissioner H. McCarthy Gipson. "This predator is off the street," added Amherst Police Chief John Moslow. Flanked by a plethora of police and wearing blue jeans and a black pull-over with a grey stripe going down both sleeves, 48-year-old Cheektowaga resident Altemio Sanchez, known by his neighbors simply as "Al," was taken from Erie County Sheriff’s Department offices on West Eagle to the Holding Center Monday night. Police announced the arrest naming Sanchez as the so called "Bike Path Rapist" at a news conference Monday afternoon. "Old fashioned police work looking back at old cases and modern technology with DNA brought this together," said New York State Police Major Michael Manning. Sanchez is married, and has two adult sons. "I'm sure they're absolutely in a state of shock right now," said Clark. Amherst Police did interview Sanchez after the killing of Linda Yalem, but did not place him under arrest. 2 On Your Side’s Scott Brown: "Why didn't he come onto your radar more strongly in the Yalem case?" Amherst Police Chief John Moslow: "If we had probable cause to make an arrest back then we certainly would have." http://www.wgrz.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=44168

Indictments Coming in BPR Case Posted by: Stefan Mychajliw, Reporter Created: 1/15/2007 10:47:15 PM Updated: 1/20/2007 9:01:31 AM An Erie County grand jury has voted to indict Altemio Sanchez, the alleged bike path rapist, on three counts of second degree murder. The grand jury listened to evidence Thursday and Friday morning that Erie County District Attorney Franck Clark says links 48-year-old Sanchez to the rape and murder of U.B. student Linda Yalem and Majane Mazur. The Grand Jury then voted Friday afternoon to indict Sanchez on three murder counts. Sanchez will be arraigned next week in those murder cases. District Attorney Clark says his office has more work to do in the Joan Diver murder. "I think Diver presents particular problems," says Clark. "All we can prove beyond a reasonable doubt at this time is that he was in her car, being fair with DNA, it could have been there the day before." Sanchez was in court Friday. He wore a suit jacket and his legs were shackled. His family was not in with him at the advice of Sanchez’s attorney, Andrew LoTempio. "I'm telling them to try and go on with their life. They hope to be left alone by the media. They didn't do anything, they've got nothing to do with it," say LoTempio. http://www.wgrz.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=44168

Bike Path Rapist Suspect Back In Court Posted by: Lynne Dixon, Reporter Created: 1/21/2007 10:07:06 PM Updated: 1/21/2007 11:31:27 PM The man investigators believe is the bike path rapist will likely be back in court this week to be arraigned on murder charges in connection with the deaths of Mayjane Mazur and Linda Yalem. Altemio Sanchez is also suspected in the murder of Clarence mother of four, Joan Diver. Prosecutors say they have his DNA from a steering column in Diver's vehicle, but admit they have no DNA that puts him at the murder scene. The defense plans to contest the collection and preservation of the DNA. Investigators also tell the t-v program "America's Most Wanted," that another uncle, living in Buffalo, offered up his DNA as part of the investigation. That DNA collection came before Sanchez's arrest. Police were led to the family after re-opening a 1981 rape case that had not been connected to the so-called bike path rapist. They re-interviewed a man named Wilfredo Caraballo, now living in North Carolina. Remember, shortly after she was raped, the 1981 rape victim saw a man at the Boulevard Mall that she thought was the man who raped her. He was followed to his car and the license plate number was taken down. Police talked to the owner of the car, but he said he hadn't driven it. His photo was shown to the victim and she could not identify him. When police went back to interview Caraballo earlier this month, he shared information with them he didn't share back then. He said that his nephew, Al Sanchez, had borrowed the car. Investigators tell the t-v program that they also went to talk to another uncle living in Buffalo. He offered up his DNA. It was not a match, investigators say, but they say it did show that he was related to whoever the bike path rapist was. That trail eventually led them to Sanchez. http://www.wgrz.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=44360

Was Bike Path Rapist Plotting Another Ellicott Creek Bike Path Attack? Posted by: Robyn Young, Reporter Created: 1/22/2007 10:33:35 PM Updated: 1/22/2007 11:18:19 PM A Buffalo police investigator said he has spoken with a woman, who is convinced that she saw the man accused of being the bike path rapist on the Ellicott Creek bike path just eight days before Joan Diver was killed on the Clarence bike path in September, 2006. "My own personal opinion, maybe it was him, and maybe he was preparing a site or checking out an area where he could commit an attack on," said Buffalo Police Detective Dennis Delano. Delano said the woman contacted him after Joan Diver, a Clarence mother of four, was murdered on the Clarence bike path September 29, 2006. According to Delano, the woman said she was walking her dog along the Ellicott Creek bike path in Amherst, in the same area where University at Buffalo student Linda Yalem had been murdered on September 29, 1990. That area is near a footbridge near North Forest. "Her dog started barking and going crazy. She felt she heard somebody in the woods," Detective Delano said. The woman heard footsteps in the woods, and to throw the person off, opened her cell phone and pretended to be talking to her husband, trying to make it appear that he was not far away on the bike path. "She continued walking toward her car, and he drove by her a few times on his bicycle," Detective Delano said. "She got a good look at his face." The woman told Delano that man was Altemio Sanchez, arrested January 15. Police said Sanchez is linked by DNA to eight out of ten bike path rapist attacks, dating from 1986 to Joan Diver's murder in 2006. All attacks are linked by attack method. Three murders, Linda Yalem in 1990, Majane Mazur in Buffalo in 1992 and Diver in 2006, are all linked by DNA, though the DNA in Diver's case was only found in her vehicle, not on her body. Yalem and Diver were both killed on September 29, 16 years apart, and on different bike paths. Besides Yalem, another woman was attacked on the Ellicott Creek bike path months earlier, in May of 1990. Police can only speculate if it was Sanchez on the Ellicott Creek bike path days before Diver's murder in Clarence. Delano said the woman reported the man had hair long enough to cover his ears, and that he was wearing a baseball cap. That leads police to wonder if it was Sanchez wearing a wig. Meanwhile, Detective Delano is looking for connections to a handful of other rapes that may also be linked to the bike path rapist. Those cases, along with most of those already attributed to the bike path rapist, involved the attacker telling his victims to wait a certain amount of time after he raped them. He reportedly told a woman attacked in Delaware Park in 1986 to "give me ten minutes" before going for help. He told another victim attacked behind a junkyard on Military Road in 1994, "you can leave in half hour," according to police records. In the first rape being considerd for connection, a knife was used. Later rapes involved a gun. In the 1986-2006 attacks linked to the bike path rapist, the victims were choked with a clothesline or other ligature. http://www.wgrz.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=44413

Similarities Between 19 Other Attacks Posted by: Robyn Young, Reporter Created: 1/25/2007 6:19:43 PM Updated: 1/26/2007 10:58:06 AM Altemio Sanchez, the man accused of being the bike path rapist, remains in custody, linked to ten attacks according to police. All of the cases are linked by attack method, and eight of them are linked by DNA evidence. Still, investigators are digging, looking for evidence in nine other rapes, including one attempted rape, that bear chilling similarities with the ten attacks blamed on the bike path rapist. Asked if he believes the same person is responsible for all 19 attacks, Detective Dennis Delano said, "Yes." Detective Delano has been compiling details in attacks dating back to 1977 in chart form, which shows what he views as distinct similarities. "The things that were said are very similar in all the cases," Delano said. "The method of attack (is similar). All the attacks were outdoors. All the attacks were in a woody, brushy type area." The first case Delano is considering is a rape that occured in 1977. He says a woman was first accosted in a car after coming out of a bar on Buffalo's West Side, then taken to Delaware Park by the statue of David where she was raped. Seven of the rapes occured in this area of Delaware Park. The cases stretch from that 1977 rape to another in 1981 in Delaware Park, three in Delaware Park in 1983, one in 1984 at a railroad overpass on Elmwood near Hertel, another in 1984 in Delaware Park, (Anthony Capozzi was convicted of these two 1984 attacks. His convictions are now being questioned), the rape of a prostitute in 1985 in Hamburg, another rape in Delaware Park in 1986, one near Frontier High School in Hamburg in 1986, one in a Buffalo junkyard in 1988, one in 1989 at the end of Churchill behind a building, a 1989 rape on the Willow Ridge bike path in Amherst, one in 1990 on the Ellicott Creek bike path and the murder of Linda Yalem on the same path in 1990, the murder of Majane Mazur in Buffalo in 1992, a 1994 rape in a Riverside junkyard, and Joan Diver's murder along the Clarence bike path in September 2006. The list includes the attempted rape of a Buffalo State College student in 1989. Sanchez is officially said to be linked to ten cases starting in 1986, though police say he may also be responsible for a 1981 rape in Delaware Park. Between the 1977 rape and Diver's 2006 murder is a string of attacks with distinct similarities. Delano said the attacker used similar language, which he would not specify, except to say that most cases involved the attacker telling the victim to wait a certain amount of time before leaving the scene. Delano said each case involved the attacker using a weapon. In the 1981 Delaware Park attack, a knife was used. A gun was used in at least five cases up until 1986, when a cord or wire was used to strangle later victims. Yalem, Mazur, and Diver all died from strangulation. Why would the same person use different weapons? Delano believes the attacker simply moved on to use other methods that worked for him. Other similarities involved the attacker coming up from behind the victims, often after walking or jogging past them. Delano also said all survivors gave a similar description of a man with dark hair, starting to gray in later attacks, and similar descriptions of the attacker's eyes. "Deep set eyes. Almost every victim makes some kind of a comment about the suspect's eyes," Delano said. There is a five year statute of limitations on rape cases, meaning these cases cannot be prosecuted, but Delano said it's about more than that. "If anybody was wronged, maybe we could make a right and find out what the truth is. That's the bottom line here," he said. http://www.wgrz.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=44488

DNA Taken From BPR Suspect Posted by: Jeff Woodard, Executive Producer Created: 2/8/2007 3:56:46 PM Updated: 2/9/2007 6:46:18 PM The man accused by police of being the bike path rapist underwent a court ordered DNA swab Thursday. Altemio Sanchez had the cells in his cheek swabbed by a member of law enforcement. The swab took place in the holding center late this morning. The DNA will then be compared to DNA collected in the rapes and murders connected to the bike path rapist. Officials say they hope to have results by next week. http://www.wgrz.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=44985

Results From New DNA Test In Bike Path Rapist Case Due This Week Posted by: Judy Wichrowski, Producer Created: 2/13/2007 6:18:53 AM Updated: 2/13/2007 7:13:55 AM The Erie County District Attorney says results from a new DNA test in the Bike Path Rapist case are expected to be in this week. Suspect Altemio Sanchez underwent a buccal swab test last Thursday. Police originally took DNA from Sanchez from utensils he used at a Williamsville restaurant before his arrest. Prosecutors had ordered a new test and a sample was taken from a swab of Sanchez's cheek last week. Police will test this new DNA sample against evidence preserved from the murders of Majane Mazur and Linda Yalem. Last month, a grand jury voted to indict Sanchez in the murders of Mazur and Yalem. Police say he is also suspected in several other attacks. http://www.wgrz.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=45138