Police have arrested a man who they believe is the suspected “Pillowcase Rapist,” who allegedly raped more than 40 women in South Florida in the early 1980s.
The Miami Herald reported that Robert Eugene Koehler, a 60-year-old registered sex offender from Palm Bay, was arrested on Saturday in connection with the incident and is being held at a jail in Brevard County awaiting transfer to Miami-Dade County.
The so-called “Pillowcase Rapist” used a pillow, shirt, or towel to conceal his identity before allegedly attacking at least 44 women in their homes or apartments. These attacks reportedly took place between May 1981 and February 1986.
For years, detectives could not identify the “Pillowcase Rapist” despite creating an entire task force to take down the attacker, which ultimately caused investigators to disband the task force in 1987.
His victims included a teacher, nurse, flight attendant, model, artist health spa instructor, student, publicist, and insurance executive. All but one of his victims lived in apartments or townhouses.
He usually broke into their homes through open windows and unlocked sliding glass doors, threatened them with a knife, and then allegedly assaulted them and sometimes ran off with cash.
Details of what led police to suspect Koehler as the “Pillowcase Rapist” remain unknown as of Monday, authorities said.
When the Sun-Sentinel reached Koehler’s ex-wife over the phone, she said, “I don’t believe it,” before quickly hanging up.