Man Charged In Florida 'Pillowcase Rapist' Cold Case From 1980s

BROWARD COUNTY, FL — Broward County officials say they have identified and charged the man responsible for a string of sexual assaults committed in South Florida in the 1980s.

Robert Koehler, 62, is being charged in six sexual assault cases in after the Broward Sheriff's Office cold case unit matched his DNA to several cases in the county, the sheriff's office said in a news release. The specific charges were not listed.

The attacks were carried out with "diabolical precision," police say. On at least eight occasions between 1984 and 1985, Koehler snuck into Broward County homes and attacked women while they were asleep or preparing for bed, according to authorities.

The assailant would sometimes cover his head or the heads of his victims with a pillowcase and threaten to kill them or family members before raping and robbing them, according to the release.

At the time, a joint task force between Broward and Miami-Dade counties was formed to investigate the sexual assaults but the trail for the so-called "Pillowcase Rapist" went cold, according to a video released by the Broward Sheriff's Office explaining the case details.

With only the technology for blood-typing available at the time, the evidence sat until authorities had the technology to test DNA, according to the video.

In 2019, Sergeant Kami Floyd of Broward Sheriff's Office cold case unit renewed the search, examining thousands of sexual assault cases from the 1980s.

A breakthrough in the case occurred when Koehler was arrested in Miami-Dade County in 2020 in a separate 1983 sexual battery case. Broward County cold case investigators received a search warrant for his DNA.

"From the DNA we were able to pull from our evidence, with 100 percent certainty Robert Koehler's DNA matches the DNA from every one of our victims," Floyd said in the video.

Koehler is still in custody in Miami-Dade County, and after his case there is adjudicated, he is expected to be brought to Broward County on the new charges, authorities said.

Based on numerous similar cases that occurred in South Florida in the 1980s and gaps in reported attacks, Broward County authorities believe there may be more victims of the "Pillowcase Rapist" who have not yet come forward.

Anyone with information on the attacks is encouraged to contact Sergeant Brian Tutler at (954) 321-4200. Anonymous tips can be made to Broward Crime Stoppers at (954) 493-8477 or at the Broward Crime Stoppers website.