PHOENIX (AZFamily) — A man facing charges in the brutal attack and sexual assault of a woman in a Phoenix alleyway has now been linked to a murder in the same area last summer, police say.

Luis Gustavo Prudente Tapia, 24, was arrested last week in connection with a violent assault that left a woman critically injured on Aug. 14 along 44th Street north of Oak Street . The woman suffered multiple broken bones and other injuries, and police believe she was attacked at random.

Now, police say detectives have named Tapia as a suspect in a woman’s murder that happened in the same alley, not far from the most recent attack, on June 13, 2024. Police responded and found an unresponsive woman suffering from a head injury. Margie New, 64, died at the hospital about a week later.

DNA evidenc

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