The rape of an 86-year-old woman early Sunday in Lop Buri has prompted police to look into a possible connection between this crime and those of a serial rapist, wanted for assaults on 10 women, nine of them elderly, also in the Central region.
Little progress has been made in the search for the serial rapist since his last attack made headlines in late January.
The victim, whose name has not been unveiled, was raped by a man aged between 30 years and 40 years old, police said.
The rape occurred in tambon Ban Chi in Ban Mi district.
The woman sustained a broken jaw and swollen face.
Police investigators yesterday visited her house to question her after she was discharged from hospital.
She was still in shock and could not remember the incident clearly, according to officers.
Her 58-year-old son, who lives nearby, told police he saw a suspect fleeing his mother's house wearing only a towel about 3am yesterday.
He rushed to the house and found his mother had been attacked.
Investigators are currently questioning men who live near the victim's house and collecting samples of their DNA for testing, said Lop Buri police chief Chaiyaphon Phanitattra.
The results of the tests should be available in about two days, he said.
The officers will also investigate whether the latest case is related to earlier attacks by the serial rapist, he said.
Investigators faced difficulties investigating the earlier rapes because they had little evidence to go on.
Even though officers were able to issues Identikit sketches of the suspect, they had very few other clues, he said.
One problem with rape investigations is that victims — as was the case in the most recent attack in Lop Buri — often find it difficult to remember details of the rapist, said Central Investigation Bureau chief Thitirat Nonghanpitak.
This is both due to the shock of the attack and the victims' advanced age, he said.
Pol Lt Gen Thitirat had previously commented on the other rapes.
They occurred in Nakhon Pathom, Samut Songkhram and Samut Sakhon provinces.
Two victims in Samut Songkhram and Nakhon Pathom, aged 61 and 78 respectively, were killed by the rapist.
If the latest attack is the work of the serial rapist, the 86-year-old is his oldest victim.