Naman Shrestha
In August 1989, Dana Beatty was subjected to rape in her Cincinnati, Ohio, residence by a masked intruder, whose identity remained a mystery for more than three long decades. As Dana lived through the trauma and learned how to cope with the aftermath, her daughter pushed the investigators to reopen the case and get to the bottom of the unsolved case. Thanks to DNA evidence, the attacker turned out to be a physician named Frederick Louis Tanzer. All the intricate details of the case and the investigation that ensued are covered in NBC’s ‘Dateline: Unmasking the Monster,’ which also features in-depth interviews with Dana and officials who helped solve the case.
Frederick Louis Tanzer Was Married to Dana Beatty’s Friend at the Time of the 1989 Assault
Born around 1959, Frederick Louis Tanzer received his medical license in the summer of 1989. He was married, and through his wife, he met her best friend, Dana Beatty (then Dana Sandbo). On the evening of August 1, 1989, Frederick, dressed in all black and wearing a face mask and gloves, broke into Dana’s condominium on Creighton Place in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he reportedly held her at knife point and blindfolded her using white surgical tape. As per investigative reports, he then proceeded to bind her hands and feet before raping her for more than five hours and fleeing the scene.
In the following years, Dana and the detectives didn’t suspect Frederick of being involved in the brutal crime. Continuing with his life, he became a medical doctor and practiced medicine for over three decades in several states, including Colorado, Kansas, Arizona, and Ohio. About 35 years later, with the advent of new DNA technology, the authorities reopened the case after Dana’s daughter, Andra, pushed them to take a fresh look in early 2024. When Frederick was identified as the prime suspect in the rape case, the detectives collected DNA evidence from a Starbucks cup that he discarded at a local Bureau of Motor Vehicles office.
Upon testing, his DNA matched the DNA sample found at the crime scene. After being brought in for questioning, Frederick reportedly made several false statements to the detectives, including denying seeing or interacting with Dana on August 1, 1989. So, even though the statute of limitations had expired and the police couldn’t charge him with rape, they charged him with making false statements to federal investigators. Thus, in December 2024, the Sycamore Township resident was arrested after his home on Kenwood Road, and his belongings were searched.
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Frederick Louis Tanzer is Currently Incarcerated at an Ohio Prison
Several months later, in September 2025, Frederick Louis Tanzer pleaded guilty to three counts of making false statements to federal agents, admitting that he had lied about not raping Dana Beatty in August 1989. Finally, on January 28, 2026, he was sentenced to the statutory maximum of 15 years in prison at the U.S. District Court for lying about the rapes. In the interview with ‘Dateline NBC,’ Frederick claimed that he was 14 when he developed a rape fantasy after watching ‘Last Tango in Paris.’
He added, “I had nobody to talk to about it. And I knew I had done something very bad. And I’m so sorry.” As of today, the 67-year-old convict is serving his sentence at Federal Correctional Institution, Elkton in Elkrun Township, Ohio, with his release date scheduled for August 2037. He is also being sued by Dana Beatty separately to hold him accountable for the rape, as she is worried that he could be released someday.
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