Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Is "John Doe Duffle Bag" The Serial Killer Targeting Middle Eastern Men In Brooklyn?
By
John Del Signore
Published Nov 19, 2012
Modified Nov 20, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
John Del Signore
Published Nov 19, 2012
Modified Nov 20, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Last night the NYPD press office released photos and video of four people wanted for questioning in regards to the murder of 78-year-old Vahidipour Rahmatollah, who was found shot to death in his Flatbush Avenue boutique on Friday evening. Shell casings found in the shop are from the same gun used to kill two other Middle Eastern store owners in Brooklyn over the summer, and investigators suspect that this may be the work of a serial killer. The motives remain unclear.
Police sources tell the Post that investigators have spoken to two of the people they were searching for earlier today: the "Green Jacket" woman and the "Bubble Jacket" man. As we noted this morning, the woman in the green jacket was seen on video running near the scene, pulling off her jacket and throwing it away. "Bubble Jacket" man was also chasing her. But after interviewing those individuals, the NYPD has determined that the woman had stolen a bottle of perfume from a street vendor, who was chasing her in his bubble jacket.
That leaves "John Doe Duffle Bag" and "Jane Doe Long Coat," a black female with glasses and neck scarf whose image was captured just after 6 p.m. with the video camera outside of 786 Flatbush Ave, just north of the crime scene. (It's believed she may have witnessed something in regards to the crime.) But this is interesting: one police source tells the tabloid that John Doe Duffle Bag (or D-Bag for short) was also seen "on a video of poor quality around the time of the murder of shopkeeper Isaac Kadare on 86th Street in Bensonhurst on Aug. 2nd." Coincidence, or is the bald guy with the duffle bag a serial killer?
Police see a pattern. Each of the three murders was committed as the owners were closing up their stores, and each took place in establishments without interior surveillance cameras. Investigators have also noted that all of the store's addresses had the number eight in them. The FBI’s Behavioral Unit, which oversees investigations into serial killers, has now joined the investigation. "I think it's reasonable to assume... some sort of reconnaissance was carried out,” Browne told reporters today.
NYPD wants to question these people in hunt for serial killer from Gothamist on Vimeo.
Tagged
john doe duffle bag
serial killer
south brooklyn
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
16 arrested in New York auto insurance fraud crackdown involving nearly $500K
State officials say the cases include staged crashes and fraudulent medical claims, with seven arrests in the Bronx alone.
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Oct 20, 2026 at 6:34 p.m. ET
Coney Island's small, 1890s lighthouse may be landmarked by the city
It's in the private community of Sea Gate. Family members of the lighthouse's last civilian keeper are keeping its history alive.
By
Catalina Gonella
News
Coney Island's small, 1890s lighthouse may be landmarked by the city
It's in the private community of Sea Gate. Family members of the lighthouse's last civilian keeper are keeping its history alive.
By
Catalina Gonella
New renderings are out for Queens' Metropolitan Park casino
By
Willow Higgins
Inside Luigi Mangione's legal strategy before his federal guilty plea
By
Samantha Max
NYC proposes crackdown down on AI customer service chatbots
By
Arya Sundaram
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .