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Serial rapist suspect caught after three-year hunt

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#1 ·
Investigators say a 35-year-old New Hampshire man brutally raped four Brockton prostitutes.

By Maureen Boyle
ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
Posted Jun 12, 2008 @ 01:58 AM

BROCKTON -
A three-year hunt for a suspected serial rapist who brutally attacked prostitutes appears to be over.
Authorities arrested a 35-year-old New Hampshire man on a string of rape charges in connection with attacks dating back to 2005 on four city prostitutes. Investigators now hope DNA will wrap up the case.
Brian Knippers, 35, of Newmarket, N.H., who works for a Waltham computer company, faces a string of charges, ranging from aggravated rape and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon to threats to commit a crime.
He was arraigned earlier this week and ordered held without bail by Brockton District Court Judge Ronald F. Moynahan. A detention hearing is set for Monday.
The charges stem from attacks on Oct. 8, 2005; Feb. 4, 2006; July 11, 2006; and Aug. 26, 2007, said Brockton Lt. John Crowley, chief of detectives.
Authorities are now trying to force Knippers to provide a DNA sample.
"These were particularly violent rapes," Crowley said. "There was the fear, each time, that he would potentially kill somebody."
Detectives had tracked a variety of leads over the years.
"In one particular rape, he drove to a wooded area, struck the woman in the head with the flashlight, she fell and hit the front of her head on a rock," Crowley said. "He got some rope from the truck, tied her hands and feet, then raped her."
The suspect then held a knife at her, saying he would let her go, but if she came after him he would kill her, Crowley said.
The arrest followed interviews with potential witnesses, hours of surveillance by police and forensic lab tests that initially linked the rapes.
Investigators have been able to link the rapes through DNA evidence but were unable to identify a suspect through any databases.
In April, one of the rape victims called police to say she had just seen the man who attacked her and was able to obtain his license plate number, Crowley said.
"That was our break," he said.
Detective Erin Cummings and other detectives, after further investigation, were able to obtain an arrest warrant for the suspect, Crowley said.
Police first went to his home in Newmarket, N.H., during the weekend, when they learned he had gone to a Celtics game, Crowley said.
One team of detectives went to the game and another went to his Waltham workplace, Crowley said.
"In Waltham, they found the car he was driving and boxed it in. They went into the building and he apparently fled out a bathroom window," Crowley said.
The suspect ran out, got in his car and drove over the curb, hit a pole and shrubs to escape, Crowley said.
The suspect later, after negotiations through his attorney, surrendered at the Dover, N.H., police station, he said.
Crowley said the investigation is continuing and would not rule out additional charges being lodged.

http://www.enterprisenews.com/news/...l-rapist-suspect-caught-after-three-year-hunt
 
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#2 ·
Prosecutors want to keep accused serial rapist locked up for now, saying he's too dan

Prosecutors want to keep accused serial rapist locked up for now, saying he's too dangerous to be released

Brian Knippers of New Hampshire is accused of beating up and raping prostitutes in Brockton.

By Maureen Boyle
ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
Posted Jun 13, 2008 @ 11:22 PM

BROCKTON -
Prosecutors want a judge to keep a 35-year-old New Hampshire man accused of beating and raping prostitutes locked up, saying he is too dangerous to stay on the street.
Brian Knippers of Newmarket, N.H., a software engineer who works in Waltham, is to return to Brockton District Court Monday for a detention - or dangerousness - hearing, more than a week after his arrest on a string of charges ranging from aggravated rape and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon to threats to commit a crime.
He has been held without bail since his arraignment on the charges Monday. If he is found to be dangerous, the suspect could be held for 60 days.
As prosecutors prepare for Monday's hearing, state police investigators examined the suspect's GMC pickup truck for potential evidence.
Authorities are also trying to force Knippers to provide a DNA sample as part of the investigation.
Knippers' attorney, Joseph Krowski, said he will fight efforts to obtain any DNA because he believes there wasn't enough evidence to obtain an arrest warrant in the first place.
Krowski said he will file motions challenging, on technical grounds, the arrest warrant and efforts to obtain DNA.
"I don't think they had probable cause (for arrest). He has no connection to this area. He's from New Hampshire. He has a job in Waltham. Half the time, he is working from his home," Krowski said.
Krowski said his client was shocked by the arrest.
"He is well-liked. He has a ton of friends. He has a lovely girlfriend, a nice mother and grandmother," Krowski said.
The charges against Knippers stem from attacks in Brockton on Oct. 8, 2005, Feb. 4, 2006, July 11, 2006 and Aug. 26, 2007, said Brockton Lt. John Crowley, chief of detectives.
Avon detectives, who are investigating an attack similar to those in Brockton, have been working with Brockton detectives in the investigation.
Investigators, armed with an arrest warrant, first went to his Newmarket, N.H., home last Friday but were told he had spent the night in Boston after attending a Celtics game, Crowley said.
One team of detectives went to Boston and another went to his workplace in Waltham, Crowley said Friday.
Detectives spotted the suspect's parked car, boxed it in and then went into the building, he sad.
The suspect apparently fled out a window, got in his car, drove over the curb, hit a pole and shrubs and escaped, Crowley said. The suspect later surrendered at the Dover, N.H., police station after contacting an attorney, he said.
The arrest in the violent attacks followed interviews with potential witnesses, hours of surveillance by police and forensic lab tests that initially linked the rapes.
According to authorities, at least one woman said the suspect told her his name was Brian. Another woman said he was driving a pickup truck with New Hampshire plates.
All of the women told police the man drove a pickup truck, was white, with blonde or light brown hair and appeared to be in his 30s. In all of the cases, the women were bound and raped, according to paperwork filed in court in support of an arrest warrant.
At least one woman was hit in the head with a baseball bat before she was tied up, according to the paperwork.
Investigators had been able to link the rapes through DNA evidence but were unable to identify a suspect through any databases.
Then, in April, one of the rape victims called police to say she just saw the man who attacked her and was able to obtain his license plate number, Crowley said.
According to paperwork filed in court, the woman was walking home from Montello News when she saw a truck over to the side of the road.
She said the truck brake lights were flickering in an attempt to get her attention and the truck then backed up toward her, according to the paperwork filed in support of an arrest warrant.
When the truck got closer, she recognized the truck as the same one used by the man who had raped her, according to the paperwork. Then she saw the driver and "recognized him as being the male who had assaulted her. She stated he saw her and drove off," according to the report.
Detectives Jackie Congdon and Erin Cummings went to Knippers' home on May 14 to verify information provided by the victims and saw a Chevy pickup truck matching the description given by some of the witnesses, with the plate number given by the woman in April.

http://www.enterprisenews.com/homep...-now-saying-he-s-too-dangerous-to-be-released
 
#3 ·
Brockton serial rape suspect faces charges in New Bedford attack

By Maureen Boyle
GateHouse News Service
Posted Jun 17, 2008 @ 08:18 AM
Last update Jun 17, 2008 @ 08:36 AM

BROCKTON -
The man accused of beating and raping Brockton prostitutes now faces charges in New Bedford after a woman there identified him as the person who savagely attacked her two months ago.
Brian Knippers, 35, of Newmarket, N.H., is charged with aggravated rape and kidnapping by New Bedford police after the woman identified him as the person who attacked her in April, New Bedford Police Lt. Jeff Silva said Monday.
The New Bedford attack, on April 9, was reported just hours after a Brockton prostitute called police to say she had just seen the man who beat, bound and raped her on the street. She had gotten his license plate number, Brockton Detective Erin Cummings testified Monday at a dangerousness hearing in Brockton District Court.
Prosecutors are asking a judge to declare Knippers a danger to the community and keep him locked up for at least 60 days without bail.
Knippers, who works for a Waltham software company, was arrested June 6 on a string of charges in connection with the brutal attacks on prostitutes in Brockton since 2005.
The arrest came after one of the prostitutes called police and said she had just seen the man who had attacked her. The woman told police the man stopped his pickup truck and flashed his brake lights in an attempt to get her attention, Cummings testified.
When the woman approached the truck, she told police she immediately recognized the driver as her attacker, Cummings testified.
The man looked at her and then drove off, but the woman was able to obtain his license plate number, Cummings said.
DNA tests showed the Brockton attacks were committed by the same person, according to paperwork filed in court.
Prosecutors asked the court to force Knippers to provide a DNA sample, a move his attorney said he will fight. A date for a hearing on that motion has not been set.
New Bedford investigators are awaiting DNA test results in the case in that city.
In all the Brockton cases, the women said they were picked up by a man in a pickup truck, bound with either rope or duct tape, then raped and threatened with a knife. One woman was beaten with a baseball bat and at least one other was hit with a flashlight, according to court papers.
The charges against Knippers lodged by Brockton police stem from attacks on Oct. 8, 2005; Feb. 4, 2006; July 11, 2006, and Aug. 26, 2007, in a wooded area off Howard Street.
Also, an attack on a Brockton prostitute in Avon was linked to the Brockton assaults by DNA, authorities said. No charges have been lodged in that case.
State Police investigated yet another attack from February 2003 when a prostitute said she was attacked, her arms duct-taped behind her back by a man with a knife and then sexually assaulted.
New Bedford police learned of the Brockton attacks after Trooper David Reis, a member of the State Police fugitive unit involved in the hunt for Knipper, noted the similarities in the assaults, Silva said.
New Bedford detectives then showed the woman who was attacked an array of photos that included one of Knipper, and she identified the New Hampshire man as her attacker, Silva said.

http://www.patriotledger.com/news/x...e-suspect-faces-charges-in-New-Bedford-attack
 
#4 ·
Brockton serial rape suspect called a danger to the community

By Maureen Boyle
GateHouse News Service
Posted Jun 18, 2008 @ 08:10 AM
BROCKTON -
The New Hampshire man accused of brutally raping at least five prostitutes is a sexual predator who poses a danger to the community and can't be released on bail, a judge ruled Tuesday.
Brian Knippers, 35, of Newmarket, N.H., was ordered Tuesday to be held for 90 days after a judge listened to two days of testimony in a special hearing to determine whether the suspect was too dangerous for bail to be set.
District Court Judge James Sullivan said the suspect "can be classified as nothing less than a sexual predator" and posed a danger to the community, as well as the victims, if released.
The judge said, based on DNA evidence and witness identification, attacks on prostitutes in Brockton, Avon and New Bedford appear to have been committed by the same person and that person appears to be Knippers.
Knippers is charged with raping five prostitutes, four in Brockton and one in New Bedford. Avon police are investigating the attack on a sixth woman in that community where DNA evidence matched that in three of the Brockton attacks.
Prosecutors are asking a judge to force Knippers to submit a DNA sample to be compared with the DNA evidence in the attacks. A hearing on that motion, opposed by Knippers' attorney, is set for July 16 at 2 p.m. in Brockton District Court.
Knippers was arrested June 6 in New Hampshire.
Knippers' attorney, Joseph Krowski, told the judge there was no evidence his client was dangerous, the description of the attacker furnished by the women was not consistent and the DNA evidence could be challenged.
Knippers turned himself in at a New Hampshire police station after learning police were looking for him, showing "consciousness of innocence," Krowski said.
He said prosecutors didn't prove his client was dangerous - or the person responsible for the attacks.
Plymouth County Assistant District Attorney William Flanagan said the evidence shows the suspect is both a danger to the community and the victims, had been identified in photo arrays, and is accused of attacking a New Bedford prostitute just hours after one of his earlier victims spotted him in Brockton.
Knippers, an application specialist at Intuit, a Waltham computer software company, is an avid fisherman who has posted photos of himself online with fish he has caught.
Knippers, who once lived in Rhode Island, shares a condo in Newmarket with his girlfriend.
He attended Southern Nazarene University in Oklahoma from 1992 to 1996, according to his online profile posted on the business social networking site, LinkedIn.
Before joining Intuit, he worked as a regional sales manager at BeyondTrust, another computer software company.

http://www.patriotledger.com/news/x...rape-suspect-called-a-danger-to-the-community
 
#5 ·
Prosecutors want judge to force suspect accused of raping prostitutes in Brockton to submit DNA sample

A hearing is set for Thursday on a motion to force a N.H. man accused of raping prostitutes in Brockton to provide DNA.

By Maureen Boyle
ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
Posted Jul 23, 2008 @ 02:28 AM
Last update Jul 23, 2008 @ 08:21 AM

BROCKTON -
Prosecutors want a judge to force a New Hampshire man accused of raping at least five prostitutes to provide a DNA sample in the case.
A hearing on a motion to force Brian Knippers, 35, of Newmarket, N.H., to provide the sample is scheduled for 2 p.m. Thursday in Brockton District Court.
The motion, opposed by Knippers' attorney, was originally set for July 16, but had been rescheduled at the request of the defense.
A judge earlier found Knippers to be too dangerous for bail to be set.
District Court Judge James Sullivan, at an earlier hearing, said the suspect "can be classified as nothing less than a sexual predator" and posed a danger to the community, as well as the victims, if released.
A different judge will be hearing the DNA motion.
Knippers is accused of raping five prostitutes, four in Brockton and one in New Bedford.
Avon police are investigating an attack on a sixth woman in that community where DNA evidence matched that in three of the Brockton attacks.
Knippers was arrested June 6 in New Hampshire.
Knippers' attorney, Joseph Krowski, earlier told a judge there was no evidence his client was dangerous, the description of the attacker furnished by the women was not consistent and the DNA evidence could be challenged.
Plymouth County Assistant District Attorney Thomas Flanagan had told the court earlier that the suspect had been identified in photo arrays by women who had been attacked. Flanagan said the suspect is accused of attacking a New Bedford prostitute just hours after one of his earlier victims spotted him in Brockton.
Knippers was an application specialist at Intuit, a Waltham computer software company, at the time of his arrest.

http://www.enterprisenews.com/news/...-prostitutes-in-Brockton-to-submit-DNA-sample
 
#6 ·
Prosecutor: DNA Ties Suspect To Mass. Rapes

Man Accused Of Raping Prostitutes

BROCKTON, Mass. -- Prosecutors said DNA test results have linked a New Hampshire man to a string of attacks on prostitutes in Massachusetts.

Plymouth Assistant District Attorney Thomas Flanagan told a Superior Court judge on Thursday that DNA samples taken in August from Brian Knippers, 35, of Newmarket, N.H., match DNA evidence recovered in the rapes of prostitutes in Brockton.

Knippers is accused of raping five prostitutes, four in Brockton and one in New Bedford, since 2005.
The test results were given to prosecutors and defense attorneys earlier this month but were not made public until Thursday.

Knippers' attorney said the samples will be examined by a defense expert. Knippers has been held without bail since his June arrest.

http://www.wmur.com/news/17738855/detail.html
 
#7 ·
Suspect in New Bedford, Brockton rapes seeks dismissal of charges

BROCKTON - A New Hampshire man accused in a string of attacks on prostitutes in Massachusetts wants a judge to drop the charges.
Brian Knippers of Newmarket, N.H., claims in a motion to dismiss that information presented to a grand jury last year in the case was "misleading and insufficient."
His attorney, Joseph Krowski Sr., said in the motion filed in Brockton Superior Court that a grand jury indicted Knippers based on the testimony of one investigator and without hearing from the alleged victims.
A hearing on the request to dismiss is scheduled for April 21.
Knippers is accused of raping five prostitutes, four in Brockton and one in New Bedford. He has been held without bail since his June arrest.
Prosecutors say DNA evidence links Knippers to the attacks.

SouthCoastToday.com: Suspect in New Bedford, Brockton rapes seeks dismissal of charges
 
#8 ·
If convicted he'll get 6 months cwf or maybe if it's a tough judge, 2 years hoc, 2 years unsupervised probation. Of course he'll have to register as a sex offender, but that'll be the worst thing that happens to him.

If that ban bus is driving anywhere near his jail, next time he's leaving for court, maybe it could strike him accidentally and save the taxpayers a bundle!
 
#10 ·
You won't find too many here arguing with you and we all know what you mean.
 
#13 ·
Serial rapist suspect caught after three year hunt... ah, if only it was after an ACTUAL hunt. That would be true justice.
 
#14 ·
Re: Prosecutors want to keep accused serial rapist locked up for now, saying he's too

Detectives spotted the suspect's parked car, boxed it in and then went into the building, he sad.
The suspect apparently fled out a window, got in his car, drove over the curb, hit a pole and shrubs and escaped, Crowley said. The suspect later surrendered at the Dover, N.H., police station after contacting an attorney, he said.
versus

Knippers' attorney, Joseph Krowski, told the judge there was no evidence his client was dangerous, the description of the attacker furnished by the women was not consistent and the DNA evidence could be challenged.
Knippers turned himself in at a New Hampshire police station after learning police were looking for him, showing "consciousness of innocence," Krowski said.

Lying lawyer bastards....
 
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