The man who police say is responsible for attacking dozens of women in South Florida during the 1980s appeared in front of a judge Tuesday.
In an arrest warrant, police say 60-year-old Robert Koehler is the suspected "Pillowcase Rapist", a criminal known for covering his face with towels or shirts and attacking 44 women between Miami and Deerfield Beach over a five-year period.
Koehler was taken into custody near his home in Palm Bay over the weekend, according to the warrant.
He faced a Brevard County judge Tuesday, and was held on no bond. Koehler will be transferred to Miami-Dade County in the coming days.
According to detectives, the break in the case came when Koehler's son was arrested on drug charges last year.
A DNA test conducted by police during the son's arrest matched the same DNA found at the crime scene and within the rape kit for one of the Miami victims.
The match led to police following Koehler over a single day and collecting DNA swabs from objects he had touched, according to the report.
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When the results came in, police say they felt there was probable cause to arrest Koehler of the crime.
An Associated Press article from March 1986 called Koehler "the most hunted man in South Florida history."
The first reported attack was on a 24-year-old secretary in May 1981, the AP reported. One of the last reported victims was a half-blind 82-year-old widow.
The suspect "attacked young career women, usually entering houses or apartments through unlocked doors or windows and using a knife to terrify them into submission," the article said.
