Karina Vetrano Update: Police Recover DNA As They Hunt For Howard Beach Murderer

Although New York City investigators have been able to recover DNA from the body of a slain 30-year-old jogger found in a Queens park last week, authorities still have no leads on who committed the murder.

According to the New York Daily News, police sources revealed that the department is currently searching through DNA databases in hopes to match the sample recovered from Karina Vetrano, who was killed Aug. 2. while jogging through Spring Creek Park.

As previously reported, Vetrano’s father, Phillip Vetrano, found his daughter’s lifeless body face-down in the marshes 20-feet away from the jogging path. Upon autopsy, authorities learned she had been beaten, raped and strangled to death.

Vetrano’s father went to find her after she didn’t return from her usual nightly jog, which her family said she normally takes around 5 p.m. She jogged with her father, also a Howard Beach resident, nearly every day until a recent back injury prevented him from accompanying her.

Her body was found in a particularly remote area of the park called the Weeds because the reams in the area can grow up to at least 10 feet high. The area is also said to be a notorious dumping ground for dead bodies.

Investigators believe Vetrano’s killer was a stranger who attacked her during her jog. Cops said they found a sneaker and a set of headphones after searching through the weeds near where Vetrano was discovered.

Vetrano’s family members and neighbors told the Daily Beast that she was a nature lover who loved butterflies, particularly the kind that were commonly seen around Spring Creek Park.

They also described her as an “unstoppable force,” which her mother, Cathy Vetrano, reiterated during her daughter’s funeral service Sunday.

“My daughter was a force to be reckoned with,” she said. “And I guarantee you, you motherf---er, that you will be reckoning with that force not only for the rest of your pathetic life but for the rest of eternity as you f--king burn in hell.”

A $10,000 reward has been offered to anyone who comes forward with any information that will lead to the killer’s arrest and conviction. Tipsters can contact NYPD CrimeStoppers at 800-577-TIPS.