FORT WORTH, Texas — An alleged serial rapist was arrested last month after being linked to two sexual assaults that occurred in 2010 and 2011, Fort Worth authorities announced Thursday.
Authorities said the suspect, 48-year-old Pedro Samarrippas, lived near McAllen and Fort Worth around the dates the assaults occurred.
In May 2020, the Fort Worth Police Department's sexual assault-cold case unit began working with the Texas Rangers on several serial rapist cases.
Officials said through federal funding they were able to conduct comparisons of unknown DNA samples to help identify suspects in unsolved cases.
Fort Worth detectives said they were able to link two Fort Worth cases to another case that occurred in McAllen in 2002. Police said these cases were linked through the same male DNA.
According to authorities, while they were investigating the Fort Worth cases they identified Samarrippas as one of the suspects.
A Fort Worth detective obtained a DNA search warrant for Samarrippas in December 2020. He was located in San Juan, Texas, and authorities were able to obtain his DNA.
Samarrippas’ DNA was tested and was matched to the suspect DNA in the two Fort Worth cold cases. He was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol on Feb. 24 while entering Mexico, officials said.
Authorities flew Samarrippas back to Fort Worth on March 1 and booked him into the Tarrant County jail on two charges including aggravated sexual assault charge and sexual assault.
Investigators believe Samarrippas lived in the Fort Worth area from 2003 until 2014 and that there could be more victims.
Fort Worth police said they're not releasing a mugshot of Samarrippas since they need to use it in a photo lineup with other potential victims. Instead, authorities released a physical description of the suspect.
They describe Samarrippas as being around 38 years old at the time of the Fort Worth sexual assaults and was driving a "small reddish" 1991 model four-door sedan.
He is 5 feet 3 inches tall, weighs about 220 pounds, and has brown eyes and black hair. Samarrippas also has tattoos on the back of both hands, the word Espinoza in old English letters tattooed on his stomach, the word Petra in script letters tattooed on his chest, a woman wearing a sombrero tattooed on his right calf, and a nude woman tattooed on his left calf.
Anyone who may be a sexual assault victim of Samarrippas is asked to call the Fort Worth Police Cold Case Sexual Assault Unit at 817-392-4351. Victims can also contact Crime Stoppers at 817-469-8477 or submit a tip online.
