The jogger slain while running alone through a Queens park was brutally beaten and raped before she was strangled by her now fugitive killer, police sources said Thursday.
“Her teeth were broken,” a high-ranking police source told TOT about Karina Vetrano, 30, the brainy and beautiful victim of the savage Tuesday night attack. “She was black and blue.”
At this point, police believe a stranger was responsible for the rape and homicide.
There were still no arrests made in the high-profile crime, although police announced a $10,000 reward for information in the investigation.
Vetrano broke up with her boyfriend just two days before her death in a desolate stretch of Spring Creek Park, only a short distance from her Howard Beach home.
The high-ranking source said the spurned lover was quickly ruled out as a suspect after providing an alibi.
“He thought their relationship was more than casual, but she disagreed,” the source said.
Vetrano was dragged about 15 feet off the unpaved path as she fought desperately for her life with her attacker, police sources said.
Karina’s heartbroken father, Philip Vetrano, returned Thursday morning to the area where he discovered her lifeless body.
The dad arrived and spoke with cops investigating the horrific crime.
The father has yet to speak publicly after the shocking slaying of his daughter.
Investigators scouring the area for evidence or clues discovered a used condom on the trail, although it was unclear if the prophylactic was linked to the crime, another police source said.
Karina Vetrano was last seen alive Tuesday about 5 p.m. when she slipped through a gate onto the bicycle path into the park.
She sent a single text message to a friend and was never heard from again.
Philip Vetrano became panicked when his daughter failed to answer his increasingly desperate phone calls.
He reached out to a neighbor, NYPD Assistant Chief John Cassidy, who placed a call on the dad’s behalf to launch a search for Karina.
Vetrano, who had advised Karina to stay off the heavily overgrown path while jogging alone, found his daughter’s body lying facedown about 11 p.m.
Cops brought in a tractor and a professional grade lawn mower Thursday, apparently to hack away some of the towering weeds that provided cover to the killer.
Police ATVs were at the scene to assist in the search along the gravel and dirt path through the park.
Philip Vetrano typically ran alongside his daughter, but begged off the Tuesday night jog because of an achy back. The two were very close and often traveled together including a cross-county car trip.
The pair graduated 30 years apart from Bishop Molloy High School in Queens. Karina earned a master’s degree last year from St. John’s University.
