New Sketches May Help Identify East Area Rapist

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — New sketches show what the East Area Rapist, or Original Night Stalker, may look like today, forty years after he terrorized counties across California, beginning in Sacramento.

The suspect committed more than 175 crimes in the late 1970s and 1980s, including raping nearly 50 women and killing a dozen people. Friday, a former Southern California detective on the case, revealed new sketches of what the East Area Rapist may look like today. The sketches did not come from law enforcement.

Four decades have come and gone since the East Area Rapist struck from Sacramento to Santa Barbara. The killer still hasn't been caught. Friday, new sketches of the suspect surfaced in a YouTube video. The video claims a retired Orange County detective, turned private investigator, hired a forensics artist to put together age progression composites of the offender. On Wednesday, the FBI also re-released its composites of the suspect, reminding the public that the man is still on the loose.

FBI Public Relations Specialist Gina Swankie said, "It's not unusual for us if we still have an open case that we put out a campaign about, we refresh that to make sure the public knows that we're still seeking information."

The problem with the police sketches is that the composites are of a young man, believed to be in his late teens or early twenties, but that was 40 years ago. The age compression sketches are not being looked at by law enforcement.

"In this particular case, we still need some valuable information," said Swankie.

A cold case that people outside of law enforcement are still trying to crack, with updated sketches of what they say the East Area Rapist could potentially look like, four decades later.