DNA from a cup defendant drank from after his arrest for a 2021 rape matched forensic evidence collected in an unsolved 2018 sexual assault case

November 14, 2024

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. – Westchester County District Attorney Miriam E. Rocah announced today that a man who was convicted for a 2021 rape of a woman in Peekskill and subsequently implicated by DNA in a 2018 attempted rape was sentenced to 16 years in state prison. 

DA Rocah said: “For a number of years, answers and closure evaded two women who were brutally and sexually assaulted in Peekskill. Thanks to the committed prosecutors in this Office and our law enforcement partners who never gave up on solving these cases, we have aptly secured justice for them today.” 

The defendant, Cristian Panza, 43 of Peekskill, was sentenced before New York State Supreme Court Justice James McCarty in Westchester County to 16 years in state prison with 20 years post-release supervision for the 2021 crime to run concurrently to 15 years in state prison with 15 years post-release supervision for the 2018 crime. 

The defendant pleaded guilty in September to Rape in the First Degree and Attempted Rape in the First Degree. 

At approximately 10 p.m. on Sept. 4, 2021, the defendant was at a recreational sporting event where he encountered the 20-year-old victim with whom he was familiar through his mechanic shop in Peekskill. The defendant took her to a bar in town where he bought the victim several drinks until she became highly intoxicated.  

Under the pretense of driving her home, the defendant took the victim to Depew Park where he strangled and raped her.  

The victim was able to get away from the defendant and immediately reported the attack. 

The Peekskill Police Department apprehended and arrested the defendant as he attempted to flee the area.  

At police headquarters, the defendant took a drink of water from a cup, which was retained for DNA testing. 

Noticing a similar fact pattern, prosecutors at the Westchester DA’s Office requested lab comparison testing of the defendant’s DNA developed from the cup to forensic materials collected from an unsolved 2018 case of attempted rape in Peekskill.  

At approximately 3:30 a.m. on Dec. 30, 2018, the defendant encountered an intoxicated 39-year-old victim in a Peekskill bar. When the victim left the bar, the defendant followed her and offered her a ride home. 

Believing the defendant was a cab driver, the victim entered the rear of the defendant’s vehicle and provided a destination address.  

Instead of driving her to that address, the defendant drove to a wooded area. When the victim demanded to know where he had taken her, defendant climbed to the rear of the vehicle, strangled and attempted to rape her. 

The victim scratched the defendant as she fought him off, and ran away to a nearby residential building where she banged on doors seeking help and police were called. 

DNA from the evidence collection kit in that assault only yielded a limited profile, making it ineligible for comparison against national or state databases of convicted offenders, but appropriate for case-to-case comparisons. 

The case was solved after prosecutors proactively moved to compare the DNA from the 2021 case with the 2018 cold case, which matched. 

In statements read in court, one victim said: “To this day, I remember it like it was yesterday, and even now, sometimes I cry and ask myself, “Why me?”...I am thankful every day for the good people who supported me throughout this process and for bringing justice so no one else has to endure what I went through.” 

The other victim said: “I was both physically and psychologically impacted by the defendant’s attack. I lived in constant fear and on some days, although years later, I still do. I believe the sentence is fair and that God will also judge the defendant’s punishment.”   

The District Attorney thanked the City of Peekskill Police Department for their work on the case. 

The case was prosecuted by Special Prosecutions Division Deputy Chief Michelle Lopez with assistance from Sex Crimes Bureau Chief Wendy Parra and Senior Assistant District Attorney Marissa Morra-Wynn.  

The DA’s Office Special Prosecutions Division is available to help victims and witnesses of sexual assault at (914)994-3000. 

###