CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Police are investigating the murders of two women in two different states.
Both of them went for a run and never came back. Police say 30-year-old Karina Vetrano went for a run through Queens, New York around 5 o'clock on the evening of August 2. Hours later, her body was found.
She’d been strangled. Sunday, a frighteningly similar situation.
27-year-old Vanessa Marcotte, a Google employee living in New York City, was home visiting family in Massachusetts when she went for a run and was brutally murdered. Police found her body naked and burned.
“It makes me nervous and hesitant about running outside,” Ashley Finch said.
Some women in Charlotte are more alert than usual.
“Well, I don’t normally walk around by myself, I try not to use that as much as possible. But if I am in a situation where I am by myself I try to walk with confidence, try to be aware of what’s around me,” said Beth Tart.
Some runners said they plan to stop running with headphones so they can hear what’s going around them and be able to react more quickly.
Others considering joining running groups.
“You see so many people walking around looking at their phones and they’re distracted. And someone who is going to attack you is looking for someone who’s vulnerable,” Tart explained.
Police also recommend running with mace, and of course, running in areas well-lit and out in the open.
