London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Sep 17, 2025

DNA advances link Edinburgh rapist to third attack on women

DNA advances link Edinburgh rapist to third attack on women

An Edinburgh woman who was assaulted in the street when she was a teenager has discovered her assailant went on to attack two others.

Jenna Pike was 16 when a man approached her from behind, attacked her and squeezed her throat until she started to black out.

Nine years later, advances in DNA technology have linked her attack to two others.

The man went on to sexually assault one woman and rape another in 2015.

Ms Pike has waived her anonymity in a bid to help trace the man responsible for the attacks.

She told BBC Scotland she was coming home from a party in the early hours of 28 October 2012 when she heard someone behind her.

'Blacking out'


She said: "It was the road I walk home all the time. I became aware of a man about six feet behind me.

"Thinking I was just blocking the road, I stepped aside and I guess I ruined his plan to surprise me.

"The next thing I knew he had spun me round, pulled me to the ground and put his hands around my throat trapping my arms and my hands so I couldn't pull him off me and started putting pressure on my neck to the point where I was blacking out."

She was not sexually assaulted but since then has been unable to walk alone day or night. No one has ever been charged for the crime.

Now in her 20s, she considers herself "lucky" her attacker suddenly stopped and ran off.

Jenna pike wants other women to come forward if the same thing has happened to them or they know any man who fits the description


Earlier this year, police in the capital made social media appeals for information as part of a renewed investigation into the 2015 incidents.

A 21-year-old woman was sexually assaulted in Craiglockhart Quadrant on 5 August that year and, just over three weeks later, a 19-year-old woman was raped in the Newmills Road area.

Jenna Pike was attacked in Colinton Road. All three are in the south-west of Edinburgh.

After seeing the appeals, Ms Pike contacted police.

She said: "I read it and just thought this area is similar, the situation with it being a lone female and then one male and I thought the age and description was so similar and I thought I might waste someone's time - but I might not.

"It turned out they hadn't made that connection and it subsequently was the same male who had committed a further two assaults."

In the wake of the sentencing of Sarah Everard's killer, Wayne Couzens and public anger surrounding her murder, Ms Pike is asking women to come forward if they have experienced similar attacks in a bid to trace her attacker.

'Late-night walks'


"I want to encourage anybody else who has been in a similar situation to phone in, check and make sure it isn't the same person. If you didn't report it then, report it now," she said.

"It helps us get an understanding of what this guy's been up to. Two-and-a-bit years is a long time to not have done anything and it makes me really concerned whether he has gone on to do more. Because it is definitely an escalation from what happened to me to his last attack."

She is concerned that other women could also have been victims of his who have not come forward.

She said: "I wasn't affected as badly as the other two women. I guess I will never know if that was his end goal or whether he was just seeing how far he could push a human but I was let go of, he let me go and he walked back up the road like nothing had happened."

Officers at the scene of the rape in Newmills Road, Balerno, in August 2015

She made this appeal: "Maybe there's a niggle in the back of your mind, someone has said something to you at some point that didn't quite click then, but is making you think about it now. Maybe a family member you know wasn't always around in the middle of the night as he seemed to enjoy a late-night walk and just women in general if something has happened to you whether you think it's related to this or not, report it now.

"It makes me annoyed more so that he has lived his life scot-free. He is not worried. It makes me concerned that he could be in a relationship, he could have a child even. He is capable of anything.

Detectives have a full DNA profile of the suspect thanks to more sensitive testing systems and the ability to test smaller amounts of material. Samples taken at the time were retested and the 2012 attack was linked to the two three years later. His profile has not been matched on any databases so far.

 Det Insp John Pleasance thanked Ms Pike for her bravery in waiving her right to anonymity

Det Insp Jon Pleasance, the investigating officer for the renewed inquiries, said: "I want to sincerely thank Jenna for bravely speaking out.

"Using advanced DNA technology we've been able to review the forensics from Jenna's case and determine that these attacks are all linked.

"It's incredibly concerning that the man responsible was targeting lone women as far back as 2012, especially given what we know now.

"It leads me to believe, due the proximity of these incidents, that the answer may very well lie in the local community.

"Anyone who can help is strongly asked to come forward, no matter how small the information or their concerns may seem. We have the ability to very quickly rule people out of our investigation."

Those with information can contact Police Scotland or pass tips anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
The German Owner of Politico Mathias Döpfner Eyes Further U.S. Media Expansion After Axel Springer Restructuring
Suspect Arrested: Utah Man in Custody for Charlie Kirk’s Fatal Shooting
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
×