A 19-year-old girl was raped after a person claiming to have a knife compelled her right into a subject beside Newmills Street in Balerno, at round 12.20am on Thursday, August 27 in 2015. Shortly earlier than this, she had stepped off a bus in Lanark Street West.
It adopted a sexual assault on a 21-year-old girl who was grabbed from behind in Craiglockhart Quadrant at about 10.30pm on Wednesday, August 5. She had additionally simply acquired off a bus, this time in Colinton Street, earlier than strolling alongside Craiglockhart Park and turning right into a road the place her attacker struck.
The person accountable was not on both bus earlier than the assaults.
Police, together with the lady attacked in Craiglockhart, launched an attraction earlier this month for folks to solid their minds again and report any issues they might have had about suspicious behaviour in somebody they knew.
Detective Inspector Jon Pleasance mentioned: “Following our renewed attraction after DNA developments definitively linked these two assaults, we’ve obtained a number of items of knowledge from the general public.
“The inquiry workforce is at the moment within the technique of assessing these and I need to thank our communities, and the media, for his or her ongoing assist.
“I’d once more urge anybody who has issues over the behaviour of anybody in August, 2015, to contact police or go data anonymously to Crimestoppers.
“Any data, regardless of how small, may very well be key. We have now a full DNA profile of the individual accountable and so can rapidly, and fully, rule folks out.”
The 5 12 months anniversary of the 2 circumstances prompted a re-examination of proof.
Developments in DNA know-how allowed forensic scientists to select up extra organic samples from the proof, enabling detectives to create a full DNA profile exhibiting the identical individual is liable for each assaults.
Police have additionally performed new door-to-door inquiries and have reviewed CCTV footage in these areas.
DI Pleasance additionally mentioned beforehand they’ve seemed for a correlation with all different sexual assault offences all through the summer season of 2015 – however for the time being police imagine solely these two offences have been perpetrated by the identical man.
Officers have additionally widened the scope of their enquiries to surrounding areas together with Fife, the Lothians and Borders.
On the time of the assaults, Edinburgh’s Competition Fringe was going down and the Royal Edinburgh Army Tattoo’s theme was East Meets West and marked the seventy fifth anniversary of the Battle of Britain.
DI Pleasance believes they’re in search of somebody you “may least suspect” is liable for such horrific offences.
He careworn folks mustn’t dismiss any issues they could have, regardless of how small they could appear.
The suspect was described on the time as being a white male, of their 20s or 30s, of slim or athletic construct, with barely longer than common hair between their ears and shoulders.
The sufferer of the Craiglockhart sexual assault informed the Edinburgh Night Information beforehand that it might imply an amazing deal if somebody might come ahead with data which might result in the seize of her attacker.
She careworn that her assault was “not a one off” and that it’s within the public curiosity to seek out this individual to verify it doesn’t occur once more.
Anybody with data ought to contact Police Scotland by way of 101 quoting incident quantity 0770 of 1 March, 2021, or go suggestions anonymously to the unbiased charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
