Woman tells I-Team she was raped by a Brockton killer who has been on the loose for 10 years

BROCKTON – Investigators have been searching for more than 10 years A man is said to have raped at least three women and killed two others in Brockton.

A woman who only wanted to be identified as “Essi” recently told WBZ-TV’s I-Team she believes she was raped by the same man just weeks before the two bodies were discovered in 2014.

“I’m pretty sure he planned to kill me,” she said.

Essi’s story

It was November 26, 2013. Essi had just been released from a drug treatment program. She was 22 years old, homeless and struggling with addiction. Needing money for her habit, she began selling sex in cheap hotels and on the streets of Brockton. Once she jumped into a car with a man.

“It was so common that I was doing it every day, multiple times a day,” she told WBZ-TV.

Essi didn’t think about it for long, the man looked good. She described him as tall, fit, muscular, good-looking, fair-skinned or Cape Verdean and well-groomed. He drove a black sedan and Essi said he checked every box.

“I would have gone on a date with him, as disgusting as that is,” she said.

At first, she said, everything seemed fine, but when they began driving down a dirt road, Essi became alarmed.

“My intuition kicks in and I start to feel uncomfortable. He tells me he can’t find his wallet, but he’s not looking for his wallet,” she told the I-Team.

She said he stopped the car and asked her to get out so he could look under her seat.

“He came up behind me and grabbed me and I immediately couldn’t breathe. From then on, it was just a blur of me being strangled, running away, and getting caught. He knew he was much bigger, faster and stronger than me for about four hours. I can’t even count how many times,” Essie told WBZ.

She said it seemed like the attack lasted for hours. Then her rapist noticed her phone kept ringing. Essi said he asked her who was calling.

“I said, ‘That’s my friend. He writes down the make, model and license plate number of every car I get into in case I get in trouble,'” she said.

Her quick thinking most likely saved her life. The attacker told Essi to cover her face with the knit hat she was wearing and dropped her off near downtown Brockton. “He told me he killed girls,” Essi said. “He didn’t tell me he was going to kill me, but I think he did.”

Bodies found in Brockton

Weeks after Essi’s encounter, the police made one disturbing discovery In December 2014. The body of a 20-year-old Ashley Mylett and the skeletal remains of the 51-year-old Linda Schufeldt were found half-buried in dirt on a wooded trail in Brockton.

Police believe they were killed by the same man. His DNA found on the victims also linked him to at least three violent rapes in October and November 2013 and January 2014. At a press conference in May 2017Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz said the women were “brutally beaten and discarded like trash.”

Essi told the I-Team she believes she is his fourth rape victim.

Brockton Hospital Records

Brockton Hospital records indicate that Essi reported that she was raped and strangled and that she lost consciousness during the attack. She said she told hospital staff that she was a prostitute who had been raped and asked for a rape kit. But, Essi said, the hospital did not collect any samples and did not preserve any evidence.

The emergency room report did not mention that a rape kit was given or that samples were sent to a laboratory. Doctors found swelling on her neck and bruising, as well as injury to her vocal cords. At the time, Essi said, she was afraid to go to the police because she thought she would somehow end up in prison.

“I mean, I should have just gone to the police and said, ‘Hello, I’m a prostitute, I was just raped,’ but after the hospital treated me like that, I was afraid I might end up in prison,” Essi said.

Sketch of the Brockton suspect

Shortly after the bodies were found, police released a sketch of the suspect. years laterWith the help of Parabon NanoLabs in Virginia, scientists were able to use crime scene DNA to predict some characteristics of the suspect and create a composite image.

Investigators also checked genealogy websites in hopes of finding family connections, but so far the murderer and rapist remains at large.

Essi said she eventually went to the police, but as time passed she had little hope that her attacker would be found and brought to justice.

“I just don’t think they care too much about prostitutes and drug addicts. Honestly, it sucks. They are easy. Get in the car and no one will notice that you are missing. This is the perfect disposable person,” she told WBZ.

The I-Team reached out to Brockton police and the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office for an interview and an update on the investigation, but neither responded. The I-Team also contacted Brockton Hospital regarding Essi’s treatment. A spokesman told WBZ that the hospital could not provide any information about health care.