DNA used to create suspect sketch – Boston Herald

The sister of a Brockton woman murdered by a serial rapist and killer said a composite sketch based on his DNA gives her new hope the suspect will be caught before he strikes again.

Its amazing. I didnt think it was going to happen, Carol Peters told the Herald last night, more than two years after the skeletal remains of her sister, Linda Schufeldt, were discovered in the woods together with the body of Ashley Mylett on Dec. 28, 2014.

Nothings going to bring her back, but if they catch him, it will make such a difference not only for us, but also for the other women and their families and keep him from doing it again, Peters said from her Kansas home.

State police detectives and Brockton police have received numerous tips since Tuesday, when Plymouth District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz released a computer-generated composite sketch of the wanted man.

The startlingly lifelike image shows a brown- or light-brown-skinned man with black hair and black or brown eyes who has been forensically linked to the two murders, as well as three rapes that were committed in October and November 2013 and January 2014 in Brockton.

The calls have been continuous, Beth Stone, Cruzs spokeswoman, said yesterday. Were hopeful this sketch will jog someones memory.

DNA results all came back positive for the same suspect from each of the rapes, the district attorney said.

The body of Mylett and skeletal remains of Schufeldt were discovered together behind 251 N. Quincy St. in Brockton. As part of the investigation, DNA was extracted from one of the women and, after analysis by the State Police Crime Lab, it was determined to be a match with the DNA from the three rape cases.

Cruz recently contacted Parabon NanoLabs in Virginia to conduct Snapshot DNA phenotyping. Parabon used the DNA sample to predict the suspects physical appearance and develop a computer-generated composite sketch. The technology uses the DNA to accurately predict eye, hair and skin color.

Peters said shes still haunted by the death of her then-50-year-old sister.

I still dont know how she was murdered, whether she suffered, she told the Herald. She had some issues but she was a wonderful person and I love her and miss her.

Peters said she never lost hope and only a month or two ago got a tattoo with the words RIP Linda etched on her left shoulder so that I have her with me every day.

She was living life the best she could. Sometimes she lived in her car, the sister added. She worried about me before she worried about herself.

Peters said her sister, who served in the Navy and had five children, turned to prostitution as a last resort to feed her drug addiction.

She did what she had to do to get by, the sister added. A lot of people think thats a horrible thing, but unless youve lived in that persons shoes, you have no way of knowing.

But when her sisters body was found six months after she went missing, Peters said she was devastated.

I was hoping shed be found alive.

The DA is asking anyone with tips to call state or Brockton police at 508-894-2584.

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DNA used to create suspect sketch - Boston Herald