Closing Arguments Begin at ‘Pillow Rapist’ Trial

MIAMI (WSVN) — Attorneys are closing a case involving an accused serial rapist.

Sixty-three-year-old Robert Koehler is on trial for rape that was part of a series of rapes in the 1980s. These rapes included covering the victims’ faces with pillows and blankets.

Prosecutors said decades after the rapes, DNA evidence led them to Koehler. But during his trial, he claimed that he was framed and tortured by corrupt policemen.

On Wednesday, jurors heard both sides one last time before they begin their deliberations.

“He can’t say ‘it wasn’t me’, DNA says it was him,” prosecutor Laura Adams said. “What is he left with? Some crazy conspiracy theory, absolutely incredibly terrifying. What kind of mind could create the monsters that he forced everyone in this courtroom to listen to?”

“I contend that they have proven that a crime was committed,” said Damaris Del Valle, defense lawyer. “No one came up here and disputed what happened. But I declare to you that they have not even come close to proving to you, beyond and beyond all reasonable doubt, that Herr Koehler committed this crime.”

The jury is expected to begin deliberations on Wednesday afternoon.

The verdict could be handed down before the end of the day.

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