Elaine Marie Goldberg, a 21-year-old white female nursing student, was tragically found dead on November 3, 2010, in Philadelphia’s Kensington neighborhood. Her partially clothed body lay in a vacant lot on the 2800 block of Ruth Street. According to the medical examiner, she had been strangled, and ligature marks were apparent around her neck.
An autopsy further revealed signs of blunt-force trauma and sexual assault; she had been raped and sodomized both before and after her death.
Investigators noted her body was posed in a sexually suggestive position, indicating a disturbing necrophilic element to the crime.
Police canvassed the area extensively, but met with little cooperation from the local community. Her death was quickly ruled a homicide on November 6, 2010, heightening concerns as similar attacks were reported nearby.
Ten days later, on November 13, 2010, the fully clothed body of 35-year-old white female Nicole Piancentini was found less than a mile away, also sexually assaulted, strangled, and posed, reinforcing fears of a serial offender. Then, on December 15, 27-year-old white female Casey Mahoney was discovered in similar circumstances, found naked from the waist down, raped both before and after death, and posed.
At these scenes, DNA evidence was collected, although initial tests yielded no matches. A sketch of a suspect was later released after a survivor’s description, though it remained unlinked. A backlog in DNA testing delayed progress until January 2011, when a sample taken from Antonio Rodriguez—a 21-year-old Black male recently arrested on drug charges and subsequently required to submit DNA—yielded a match to the DNA from Elaine Goldberg’s case.
Rodriguez was arrested on January 16/17, 2011. He confessed to selecting victims at random, engaging them in rough sexual encounters, and strangling them during the act, later admitting he “didn’t feel anything”. He was charged with three counts of murder, rapes, and necrophilia involving Elaine Goldberg, Nicole Piancentini, and Casey Mahoney.
In a swift non-jury trial, Antonio Rodriguez was found guilty on all counts. On August 16, 2012, he received three consecutive life sentences without parole. His conviction relied heavily on DNA matches—considered highly conclusive—and his own chilling confession.
There were no other arrests or additional suspects charged in connection with Elaine Goldberg’s death, as all three homicides were attributed to Antonio Rodriguez, the so-called “Kensington Strangler.”
