Suspected serial killer accused in nurse’s slaying possibly used Tinder to target victims: Police

Sources claimed Danueal Drayton, 27, confessed to six other murders following his arrest

Police believe a Connecticut man arrested for the murder of a nurse used dating websites to target the slain victim in addition to another young woman he raped last month.

CBS News reported that Danueal Drayton, 27, was initially wanted in connection with the murder of Samantha Stewart, 29, whose body was found inside her Queens apartment on July 17. Stewart reportedly had trauma to her  head and neck when she was found.

The NYPD has also linked Drayton to last month’s rape of a 23-year-old woman in Brooklyn. Police believe the suspect connected with both his victims through Tinder, an online dating app, according to the news outlet.

“[The] common denominator in these cases—one being a murder and one being a rape—is dating websites,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea said Thursday, according to ABC News. “This individual is known to us and believed by us to be using dating websites to meet women and victimize women.”

ABC reported that Drayton was arrested Thursday in Los Angeles with a 28-year-old woman he was allegedly holding against her will, had sexually assaulted, and tried to kill.

Alarmingly, sources told the New York Daily News that Drayton confessed to Stewart’s and six other murders following his arrest in California. The police source claimed Drayton’s victims were located in New York, Connecticut, and possibly California.

“My body did this, not my mind,” Drayton told investigators, according to the police source who spoke with the newspaper. “I didn’t want to do this. My body made me do this.”

Upon his arrest in Los Angeles, Drayton was charged with attempted murder, forcible rape, sexual penetration by foreign object and false imprisonment, according to prosecutors. ABC News reported that his bail was set at $1.25 million.

[Featured Image: Danueal Drayton/NYPD; Samantha Stewart/Facebook]