Accused serial rapist from DC area arrested in Horry County after 2 decades on the run
Police say a man wanted for a string of rapes and a murder in the Washington D.C. area was arrested in Horry County, South Carolina on Wednesday.
The sexual assaults happened between 1991 and 1998. The suspect in the assaults was dubbed the “Potomac River Rapist.”
J. Reuben Long Detention Center records show Giles Daniel Warrick, 60, was booked into jail on Wednesday morning as a fugitive from justice by Horry County officers. Washington D.C. police confirmed during a Thursday press conference that Warrick is that suspect.
He faces charges of first-degree murder and other charges in connection to the sexual assaults.
Investigators say between May 6, 1991 and Aug. 1, 1998, a person raped eight woman, attempted another sexual assault and killed one person in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. The victims were between 18 and 41 years old, according to the FBI. Seven of the nine attacks have been linked by DNA.
Christine Mirzayan was a 29-year-old intern and the victim in the final attack in 1998. She was murdered while walking to her home in the Georgetown area, FBI officials said. She was raped, hit in the head multiple times with a rock and her body was left near a freeway.
“There is a certain degree of satisfaction to locate the person responsible for heinous actions,” Washington D.C. Chief of Police Peter Newsham said.
Police officials said they do not believe Warrick lived in South Carolina for a very long time before his arrest.
Warrick is being held in J. Reuben Long Detention Center pending his extradition to the D.C. area.
Horry County court records indicate a Oak Log Lake Road address for Warrick. Oak Log Lake Road is off S.C. Highway 905 outside of the Conway, SC area.
In May, Myrtle Beach police cited Warrick for operating a vehicle without a license. He paid $128 in costs and fees, according to court records. In that incident, Warrick lists a Ijamsville, Maryland address on his court records.
Warrick was also listed as a plaintiff in a 2019 civil lawsuit against a bank. He alleges when he bought the Oak Log Lake Home out of foreclosure it had defects.
This story was originally published November 14, 2019 at 3:22 PM.
