A former Kansas doctor, Frederick Louis Tanzer, residing in Ohio, was indicted by a federal grand jury on Friday. The six-count indictment came after his DNA was linked to a rape case from 1989.
Tanzer allegedly provided false information to federal investigators regarding his interaction with the victim on the day of the rape. He now faces charges of making four false statements to a federal agency or officer, as well as two counts of creating or using a forged document. If convicted, he could potentially be sentenced to up to five years in prison for each count. It’s important to note that federal crimes can still be prosecuted, even if the underlying offense has exceeded the statute of limitations.
According to the probable cause affidavit, federal officials identified Tanzer as the primary suspect in the cold-case rape after collecting DNA evidence from a Starbucks cup dumped at the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV). A forensics laboratory confirmed that the DNA extracted from the coffee cup corresponded to the DNA left by the rapist at the crime site.
Court filings reveal that the victim suffered a severe rape in her Cincinnati, Ohio, condominium on August 1, 1989, following her return from work. The rapist allegedly left a letter with the words, “No police or I’ll be back, Miss IBM,” after a five and a half hour encounter.
Tanzer is a medical doctor who has lived and worked in Ohio, Kansas, and Colorado. The Kansas Board of Healing Arts issued his Kansas medical license in 2015, and it is renewable until 2024. Hutchinson Regional Medical Center lists him as a hospitalist, but their website does not include a link to his biography.
According to court filings, Tanzer may have drugged and raped two additional victims in Kansas during the last two and a half years. Tanzer faces accusations of drugging the women, engaging in sexual relations without their consent, and using a burner phone to communicate with sex workers during his weeks or months of work travel.
On December 11, investigators issued a search warrant at Tanzer’s house in Sycamore Township, Ohio, and found restraints, a gag, a black hat, and zip ties in his dresser.
Federal law enforcement officials ask the public to consider the circumstances of the rapes, as well as the locations where Tanzer has lived, and to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI if they have any comparable information.
