Tulsa Police Believe Two Rapes, Stabbings Are Connected

Tulsa Police are looking for a man who raped and stabbed two women in downtown - one in June and another this month.

They used DNA to rule out some suspects, but the rapist is still out there, and detectives said there’s no doubt the two cases are connected.

Police said the M.O. is nearly the same in both, the sex act is the same in both and some of the statements made are the same.

They said both victims have several stab wounds from their neck, chest, arms, all the way down to their thighs.

Both cases also happened close to midnight, and both victims were homeless.

The first woman was attacked while sleeping under a bridge until she heard a man screaming at her, then threatening her with a knife.

6/13/2017 Related Story: Police: Tulsa Woman Sexually Assaulted, Stabbed Seven Times

"She was fighting, screaming, everything she could do. She clamped her eyes shut, was very frightened, and, at the end of it, he began stabbing her,” Sergeant Jillian Phippen said.

The second attack happened September 11, 2017. Police said the woman was walking when a man asked her to do a favor. She said no and then he attacked her in the same way.

9/11/2017 Related Story: Woman Stabbed, Sexually Assaulted, Near Tulsa Transit Station

A Good Samaritan saw her crawling, bleeding and got her help.

Police looked at surveillance video from nearby businesses but got nothing.

"Cameras are either down or just poor quality," Phippen said.

The women don't have a detailed description of the man but believe he is also homeless.

Officers are making the rounds to shelters and gathering places, asking questions, but are not having a lot of luck.

"There are still a lot of people who don't want to come forward for fear they're snitching," Phippen said.

Police said it's not only important that people come forward to help the victims but to also prevent future victims because they don't think the man is going to stop until he's stopped.