Police were warned about jogger's 'killer' two months BEFORE her death: Suspect, 20, identified in 911 call back in May is arrested after his DNA was found under the fingernails of woman beaten, raped and strangled 

  • Police named Chanel Lewis, 20, as the suspect on Sunday morning
  • He is accused of beating, raping and strangling Karina Vetrano on August 2
  • A 911 call about him acting suspiciously on a bike track in Spring Creek Park was made in May 2016, two months before her death  
  • Lewis was arrested after police compared his DNA to traces left at the scene
  • Detectives tracked him down after reviewing stop and frisk reports from the time
  • They had to extract a DNA sample from him because he had no existing criminal record 

By Dailymail.com Reporters

Published: 11:18 EST, 5 February 2017 | Updated: 12:08 EST, 5 February 2017

Police have arrested a 20-year-old Brooklyn man for the rape and murder of Karina Vetrano 

Police have named the suspect in the Karina Vetrano murder case on Sunday as Chanel Lewis, a 20-year-old from Brooklyn who was reported to police two months before her death for acting suspiciously near the park where she died.

Lewis was arrested at his mother's house in East New York, Brooklyn, on Thursday at 6pm, six months after the 30-year-old jogger's death on August 2.

In May, residents in Howard Beach, Queens, called 911 to report him acting suspiciously in the area. 

Police investigating Vetrano's death rediscovered a log of the call and tracked him down to take a DNA sample which they matched to tissue found under the 30-year-old's skin. 

He has since made a number of 'detailed' statements about how he attacked her, NYPD Chief Robert Boyce said on Sunday.

Lewis is due to be arraigned on Sunday or Monday, Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said at a press conference.  

Vetrano, 30, was beaten, raped and strangled while she was jogging in Spring Creek Park near her Howard Beach home on August 2.  

Her family, who have maintained an active public profile since her death, have not yet responded to news of Lewis's arrest.

'After an extensive investigation with more than 250 leads, 715 investigation reports, numerous DNA searches, Lewis was identified,' Boyce said in a prepared statement at a press conference on Sunday morning.

While taking questions from reporters, he elaborated: 'We found a 911 call prior to the homicide of him being in Howard Beach.

'From that we had a profile. He does have a number of summonses, he has no criminal record,' he said. 

Investigators have recovered DNA from Vetrano's remains, but the sample didn't match that of any convicted criminal in New York or around the country

The jogger's body was found in Spring Creek Park near her home in Howard Beach, New York, at 9 pm on August 2. The crime scene is pictured at the time

Phil Vetrano, Vetrano's father (pictured with her), said he knew something was 'wrong' instinctively just 25 minutes after his daughter left their home to go running on August 2

The father of the murdered Queens jogger previously said he had a 'bad feeling' just 25 minutes after his daughter left home for her run.

Phil was meant to go running with his daughter but couldn't because of a back injury. 

He warned her not to run in the park alone but couldn't stop her from leaving.

Within 25 minutes of her departure, he knew instinctively something was wrong and phoned police.

His daughter was last seen on surveillance footage at around 5:45 pm. Phil found her body in marshland at the park just over three hours later.

'She asked me to go for a run and I said I couldn't go.

'And about 25 minutes later I got a bad feeling. I knew something was wrong. Like something was wrong,' Phil told Dr Oz in an appearance that will be aired on Tuesday evening.

Vetrano was still alive when her father phoned a police chief he knew personally to raise his concerns. 

Vetrano was seen on surveillance footage jogging towards the park at 5.46pm, moments before her death

Her father offered a large reward to anyone with information about his daughter's death

Vetrano's family and friends are campaigning for information about her death. Above, mourners at the young woman's funeral

DNA at the scene was found but could not be matched to anyone already in police databases

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