Philadelphia officials announced on Tuesday the potential breakthrough in a notorious cold-case rape in Fairmount Park, crediting advancements in DNA testing for the progress in the investigation. Authorities believe that Elias Diaz, a man recently arrested for a series of knife attacks on the Pennypack Trail, may be connected to the long-unsolved rape case.

Diaz, 46, has been charged by the District Attorney's Office with the rape and murder of 30-year-old Rebecca Park in Fairmount Park in 2003. The list of charges against Diaz includes murder, rape, IDSI, aggravated indecent assault, possession of an instrument of crime, indecent assault, abuse of a corpse, recklessly endangering another person, and tampering with evidence. Currently, he is being held without bail.

Initially, Diaz was arrested for his involvement in three knife attacks on the Pennypack Trail in Northeast Philadelphia last month. Two victims were slashed by a cyclist wielding a machete, while the third managed to escape unharmed after facing verbal abuse from the suspect. Investigators have now connected Diaz to a series of decades-old rapes in Fairmount Park, suggesting that he may be the infamous "Fairmount Park Rapist" responsible for a string of crimes that have haunted the city since 2003.

According to sources from law enforcement, DNA evidence strongly points towards Diaz as the perpetrator of the long-standing cold-case rapes. Final confirmation is pending the return of DNA test results, but sources believe they have their man. The arrest of Diaz marks a significant turning point in a case that has remained open for nearly two decades.

The first incident linked to the Fairmount Park Rapist occurred in April 2003, when a 21-year-old woman was brutally raped at knife-point while jogging on Kelly and Fountain Green drives. Two months later, the same suspect allegedly raped and strangled Rebecca Park, a 30-year-old medical student, on the west side of Fairmount Park. Her lifeless body was discovered four days later. In October of that same year, a 37-year-old woman was attacked at knife-point while jogging on West River Drive. Fortunately, she managed to escape.

Descriptions provided by the victims described the assailant as a Hispanic man, approximately 5-foot-8, with black hair, a thin mustache or jawline beard, and bushy eyebrows. In some instances, the suspect was seen wearing an earring in his left ear while fleeing on a purple metallic 10-speed bicycle.

After a hiatus of nearly four years, the same man was believed to have raped a woman near Frankford and Solly avenues in August 2007. Investigators were able to connect the DNA from the three victims, establishing a pattern and confirming the presence of a single offender.

Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore of the Philadelphia Police remarked on the breakthrough, stating, "These cases were all matched together, and we knew we had a pattern of DNA and we knew we had the same offender." The utilization of advancements in DNA technology has finally caught up with the suspect, who has evaded justice for almost two decades.

As the investigation into Diaz continues, law enforcement is also looking into other potential rape cases that could be connected to him.