Photo: Courtesy: Miami-Dade booking photo Robert Koehler
(Miami, FL) - A Miami jury hearing opening statements in the Pillowcase Rapist's second trial.
The state's case hinges on a DNA match and prosecutor Laura Adams says Robert Koehler's is extremely rare.
In the absence of fingerprints at the scene, defense attorney Alex Klayman questioned the viability of 40-year-old DNA evidence.
He told the jury that there is no observable evidence linking his client to this rape like fingerprints. The defense also questioned the viability of 40-year-old DNA evidence.
The state described how the attacker covered the victim's face with a cloth, so she could not see. The Pillowcase Rapist so named because he used a pillowcase or other fabric to cover the faces of his victims. The defense argued that the victim's description of the attacker didn't match his client. She said he was medium height and Koehler at the time in 1984 was 6'1". Klayman said, "In Miami, that's a giant."
Koehler is already serving 17-years for another rape and police eventually linked him to dozens of rapes through DNA in 2020.