Serial killer suspected in 4 women's deaths in Flint
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Serial killer suspected in 4 women's deaths in Flint
The Associated Press
10/11/99
FLINT, Mich. (AP) -- Police and the FBI suspect a serial killer is
behind the
deaths of at least four women involved in drugs or prostitution whose
bodies
were left in or near abandoned houses.
The two agencies have formed a task force to investigate the deaths,
which
began in February. It met for the first time Monday.
The latest victim was Lisa Marie Price, 31, of Flint, said police
homicide Lt.
Jody Matherly. A passerby found her body in a yard Friday.
Her death was similar to three others dating back to February, police
said.
"The victims have been female, African-American, late 20s to late 30s
years of
age, and all have a history of drug use and/or prostitution," police
said in a
news release.
Matherly withheld the cause of death and other details of the cases,
saying
release of the information might hurt the investigation. But police said
they
have put the vice squad on heightened alert to identify and catch people
who
try to solicit prostitutes.
On Feb. 15, the body of Helene Fails, 38, was found in an abandoned
house. She
had been strangled, The Flint Journal said.
On Aug. 22, the body of Brenda Millender, 27, was found by police inside
a
house.
On Sept. 29, the body Hermetta Harris, 33, was found by a man walking
his dog
in Whaley Park.
Matherly said the task force would review the crimes together, and the
FBI
behavioral sciences unit would study details of the crimes to try to
devise a
profile of the killer.
Prostitutes and female drug users have been the victims of other serial
killers
in Michigan.
Benjamin Atkins was convicted in 1994 of raping and strangling 11 women
in 1991
and 1992 in Highland Park and Detroit. He died of AIDS in prison in
1997.
"You could go to any major city" and find similar killings of
prostitutes, said
Grand Rapids police Sgt. Tom Rozema. "They are so vulnerable."
Grand Rapids-area police set up a task force to investigate the deaths
of 12
women linked to prostitution, Rozema said Monday. Those slayings began
in 1994.
No one has been charged in any of the deaths, though one suspect was
sent to
prison on an unrelated charge.
Police now think two or three separate people are responsible for the
killings,
Rozema said.
-----------------------------------------------------------
The following appears courtesy of today's American Broadcasting
Company news
wire:
Flint Police Fear Serial Killer
October 12, 1999
ABC
(FLINT) -- Police in Flint are enlisting the FBI to help find what local
law
enforcers fear may be a serial killer. A joint task force met for the
first
time yesterday to begin investigating the murders of four women in the
area
over the past eight months. They're asking Flint residents to pay
attention,
but note whoever is responsible appears to be targeting specific
victims. Flint
Homicide Detective Jody Matherly says the victims have all been female,
African-American, late 20's to late 30-years of age, and all have had a
history
of drug use and or prostitution. Matherly adds that all the victims were
found
in or near abandoned houses and fields.