Thursday morning, the Erie County Sheriff's Department announced a DNA link between the recent murder of Joan Diver and the still-unsolved 1990 homicide of UB student Linda Yalem.
Diver, wife of chemistry professor Steven Diver, is the third homicide now linked to the "bike path rapist" - 10 total unsolved assaults have been attributed to the unidentified attacker over the last 20 years.
"From the beginning of the Joan Diver investigation, similarities were noted," said Erie County Sheriff Timothy Howard at the Tuesday press conference.
Discrepancies between the latest homicide and the other attacks, however, kept officials from linking the cases right away - unlike the other nine victims, it does not appear that Diver was sexually assaulted before she was killed.
Officials would not say where the DNA that was matched.
With the campus' close proximity to the Amherst Bike Path, university officials have responded with messages urging people not to travel on paths or trails alone via. e-mail, MyUB and fliers on campus.
Dennis R. Black, vice president of Student Affairs, said that the news "changes the culture" on campus.
"What was a frightening possibility has now hit our campus twice," he said, referring to both Yalem and Diver. "There's a reality to that which is hard to ignore."
In addition to the notices, UB is planning crime prevention programs for later this semester and for in the spring, according to Black.
University Police patrols of the university section of the Amherst Bike Path that were raised after the Diver attack will continue until further notice.
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Messina, from the RMBERS' Instagram page
