With three young women already dead, the West Side Strangler has established a discernible pattern. According to the police, he kills on the fifteenth of each month and yesterday was no exception. For several weeks, increased chatter about the Strangler and “Beware the Ides of March” was all over social media warning young women to be careful on that day. When the City of New York recently put initial coronavirus restrictions in place, everything changed. The new virus usurped the “Strangler” story as the top headline—until today.

For months, police had warned young women to be extra careful as each fateful date approached but most people’s attention was focused on politics and the emerging pandemic. Despite numerous public service announcements and all the precautions women have been taking, a new victim, Rosie Florio, 31, was found early this morning on her bathroom floor. Her shirt had been pulled up and “Thanks” was written on her stomach in toothpaste.

Ms. Florio was a dancer with the West Side Funk Dance Corp, a modern jazz ensemble. Another dancer in Ms. Florio’s company said the victim left the rehearsal studio on West 72nd Street and Broadway at 9pm on March 15 with plans to walk home to her apartment on West 97th Street. After changing into her street clothes despite protests from several other dancers about walking alone at night on that date, Ms. Florio began her trek home.

“I told her not to walk,” said another dancer, Jamie Holt. “She said, ‘Stop worrying, Granny. I’ll be fine.’ Rosie was always joking around and stayed away from the serious stuff. I remember she stood up and did one last back-bend stretch and said, ‘Between the virus and this Strangler, everyone’s acting like it’s doomsday. I don’t pay attention to any of this stuff. I’m more worried about our dance company being shut down because of this damn plague than running into the West Side Strangler.’”

“‘He’s killed three women already,’ I told her,” said Ms. Holt. ‘Today’s the fifteenth. You should take a car home, it’s late.’ She said she didn’t have the money so I offered to pay for an Uber but she wouldn’t let me, said she wanted to walk and clear her head.”

According to Ms. Holt, Rosie Florio left the rehearsal hall alone with two fully loaded dance gear bags slung over each shoulder. The police have said a man whose name is being withheld remembered seeing a woman fitting Ms. Florio’s description walking on 74th Street last night. He remembered her because he witnessed her collide with a man, knocking him over as her bags went flying. He heard the woman apologize to the man as he passed them.

Later, a woman leaving Ms. Florio’s building passed the victim and a man wearing a face mask walking up the steps to the front door. The man was carrying one of Ms. Florio’s large duffel bags and the neighbor overheard the man ask if he could use Ms. Florio’s bathroom.

The investigation into Ms. Florio’s death is still in the preliminary stages. Detectives Heather Kim and Daryl Williams, who head the West Side Strangler task force, suspect this new murder is the work of the same killer they’ve been pursuing. The police strongly advise women to be vigilant and aware of their surroundings. New theories on how the killer gains the trust of his victims have emerged. “It may be that he looks for women in distress and offers a helpful hand,” said Detective Williams. Police say women should be on the lookout for those types of offers and stay away. “Bottom line,” said the detective, “don’t let anyone into your apartment who you don’t know well.”