Alleged Florida serial rapist sentenced to 17 years in 1983 case
A judge in Florida (USA). sentenced to 17 years Robert Koehler, 63, was sentenced to 17 years in prison for 1983 case reopened thanks to DNA evidence. against the alleged serial rapist, known as “pillowcase rapist”, who allegedly sexually abused 45 women in South Florida during the 1980s.
Although Koehler was convicted last January of sexual assault on a woman, this Thursday Miami-Dade Circuit Magistrate Judge Daryl E. Trawick, who is presiding over the case, decided to dismiss this charge as having expired under Florida statutory guidelines.
The judge did upheld charges of kidnapping with a weapon and robbery with assault or battery while armed, whereupon he sentenced the defendant to 17 years imprisonment.
This is the case of a woman, now 65 years old, victim of a sexual assault. by Koehler in Miami-Dade County on December 28, 1983, when he was 25 years old.
The trial garnered media attention because Koehler was suspected of being the notorious “pillowcase rapist,” who was arrested thanks to DNA evidence in 2020.
Koehler, who during the trial appeared in a wheelchair and aged, he denied at all times that he was the author of the rape and kidnapping of the woman.
Prosecutor Laura Adams highlighted that. the DNA test conducted proves that Koehler was the perpetrator of the sexual abuse.and insists that he terrorized his victim with the help of a gun.
“He terrorized an innocent woman in her home,” Adams said during his closing statement, so he asked the jury not to hesitate to find Koehler guilty, which indeed they did.
In 2020, Koehler had been arrested for a sexual assault case and subsequently identified as a suspect as the “pillowcase rapist.”
Detectives used DNA from Koehler’s son to link him to the rapes.
Following DNA testing, authorities found that. matched the suspect in 8 reported rape cases.
“On at least eight occasions in 1984 and 1985, detectives believe Koehler broke into homes in Broward County late at night. or in the early morning hours through open doors and attacked his victims while they were sleeping or preparing for bed,” police said in a statement.
The nickname “pillowcase rapist” comes from the fact that. sometimes covered the heads of his victims in this way. or his own.
According to the authorities, Koehler threatened women with death. them or their relatives before raping and robbing them and became a highly publicized case at the time, but due to lack of evidence it was forgotten until now.
