Murder of jogger, 27, in Massachusetts shares eerie similarities with New York killing
Authorities are continuing their search for the killer of a 27-year-old Massachusetts jogger who was found dead over the weekend.
Read: Cops: Jogger 'Put Up a Ferocious Fight' Against Attacker Before Her Death
The body of Vanessa Marcotte was discovered in the woods near her mother's Princeton home on Sunday. Marcotte, who lived and worked in New York City, had gone for an afternoon jog while staying with her mother but she never returned.
Police say her body had been burned. Authorities are trying to determine if she was sexually assaulted.
"I must stress that we do not know if this was a random act," Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early said at a news conference Monday. "We are asking residents of Princeton and surrounding areas to use an abundance of caution. We are asking the public to be careful and to be vigilant."
Marcotte worked as an account manager for Google in Manhattan.
"Vanessa was a much-loved member of the Google team," the company said in a statement. "We are deeply shocked and saddened."
No arrests have been made in the case, which comes a week after Queens, New York jogger Karina Vetrano, 30, was discovered in the marsh near her home in the Howard Beach section of the borough.
There are eerie similarities between the murders of Vetrano and Marcotte. Both women, who lived in New York City, were found in undergrowth after going missing while jogging alone in broad daylight. One obvious dissimilarity is that the crime scenes are 190 miles miles apart.
Police say there is "nothing at this point" to connect the killings, but they are said to be "comparing notes."
At a church meeting Monday night, concerned Howard Beach residents were updated on the investigation into Karina Vetrano's murder
Several of the residents demanded that the thick bush along the jogging path where she was killed be cleared.
Photos of Vetrano:
Read: Jogger Found Dead by Her Own Father After Failing to Return From Evening Run
The path is lined with shoulder-high weeds, in which the killer may have hidden as he lay in wait for a victim.
Karina's mother, Cathy, could barely contain her fury as she ripped into the killer Sunday in a profanity-laced news conference outside their home.
She promised the killer that they would "be reckoning with that force not only for the rest of your pathetic life, but for the rest of eternity as you f***ing burn in hell."
The distraught mother added: "The whole world knows what a pathetic, puny, weak piece of filth you are. Soon, we're going to have a face to the d***less piece of garbage that you are."
Watch: After the Grisly Death of Jogger, How You Can Stay Safe During a Run
