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Early in the investigation, police said Vetrano put up a fight against her attacker, and Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce referred to that detail in a press conference this afternoon.

\"Karina helped us to identify this suspect,\" Boyce said, \"thanks to the DNA we recovered from under her nails.\"

Police gave only limited details about the conclusion of their investigation. Boyce corrected what he described as a misconception about it, saying Lewis had not been in their sights for very long. He described the case as coming to a head within only the last 10 days and pointed to a DNA swab as the key link between Lewis and Vetrano.

Police said today it was unlikely that Lewis knew Vetrano in any capacity and believed the violence occurred after a chance encounter.

Boyce said it was also unlikely that Lewis was a stalker, as some speculated earlier in the investigation.

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