Cathy Vetrano, mother of 30-year-old Karina Vetrano, said she guarantees her daughter’s killer will “pay forever.”
Karina Vetrano’s body was found 15 feet from a trail where she and her father ran every day. Her father, a retired firefighter, had taken a day off from running because of back pain. Vetrano left her home about 5 p.m. Tuesday, August 2, 2016 for a jog in the Spring Creek federal parkland.
Soon we are going to have a face to the piece of garbage that you are … The whole entire world knows what a pathetic, puny, weak piece of filth that you are.
— Cathy Vetrano, Karina’s mother
When Karina Vetrano didn’t return home, her father called a police chief he knows, who lives nearby. The police chief called 9-1-1, and Vetrano’s father went to the grasslands and woodlands to join police in the search. Pings from Karina’s cellphone led police and her father to the location of her body in a marshy area.
Police report that Vetrano was strangled to death and possibly sexually assaulted. Vetrano was found face down with scrapes on her legs, her sports bra and shorts pulled down, and her teeth broken. One of her hands was clutching grass, and police suspect she was trying to resist by holding on to the ground as she was dragged away from the trail.
On Friday sneakers and headphones were found near the crime scene. The items will be checked for fingerprints. NYPD called in the FBI for assistance because Vetrano’s body was found on federal parkland.
Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said, “Right now, we think it’s random, so we don’t believe it’s anybody in her life that’s created this.” The murder is believed to represent a severe community threat, according to police.
A $10,000 reward is offered for information leading to an arrest.
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Help @NYPDDetectives find the person who murdered #KarinaVetrano. Call #800577TIPS with any info. $10K REWARD pic.twitter.com/L0YYUdIjvj
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) August 8, 2016
Karina Vetrano remembered as brave, loving daughter and friend at tearful funeral service https://t.co/E0llPDtcbU pic.twitter.com/aKJSvsFkoW
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) August 6, 2016
I've met thousands of amazing New Yorkers while filming Blue Bloods- none were as kind as Karina Vetrano. #RIPKarina pic.twitter.com/j5mdk86qvp
— Donnie Wahlberg (@DonnieWahlberg) August 6, 2016
RIP: Wake today for Karina Vetrano, Howard Beach woman killed while jogging Tuesday. https://t.co/YoNNJaDkCf pic.twitter.com/6uGbgF9jU9
— Eyewitness News (@ABC7NY) August 5, 2016
Officers put up flyers asking for tips in the murder of jogger Karina Vetrano. New details- 11p on #nbc4ny pic.twitter.com/Qtx6Iodxeh
— Michael George (@mgeorge4NY) August 4, 2016