Detailed & major update on Todd Alan Reed,under arrest in OR & charged w/being Forest Park serial killer of at least 3 gals
Joe1orbit
As everyone who has been reading my posts in recent days should know, a 32
year old fellow named Todd Alan Reed was arrested a few days ago, and charged
with being the Forest Park, Oregon serial strangler of THREE young,
homeless-druggie-prostie gals, all of whom were found dumped inside of Forest
Park, in Portland, earlier this year.
I am pleased and proud to present a detailed, comprehensive update on this
case, with quite a few NEW and interesting details being revealed, in the below
articles. First of all, I've located an OUTSTANDING color photo of Todd, as he
looked in court just two days ago. Simply launch your browser to:
http://www.oregonlive.com/special/99/bigpicture_murders.html
And you will be able to feast your eyes on a fine photo of Todd.
In case you missed my previous posts, you can still view a different, older,
black & white photo of Todd, as well as link to an archive of 15 or so
different articles on this fascinating serial killing spree, from the following
URL:
http://www.channel6000.com/news/stories/news-990720-180806.html
Todd was arraigned in court on Tuesday, and quite a LOT of interesting new
info is now available. Police say that they have DNA evidence linking Todd to
at least TWO of the killings. His DNA was found on or near the bodies of at
least 2 of the 3 victims. Todd, perhaps realizing that he can't just DISMISS
the DNA evidence, is now telling cops that YES, he did have SEX with two of the
gals, but doesn't know anything & had nothing to do with, their murders. I
think Todd would be better served in not saying ANYTHING at all to the
empowered representatives of society who will seek to obtain his conviction and
legal murder. But being that the three murder victims were KNOWN hookers, and
the DNA evidence DOES need to be explained away, I guess it's not too much of a
tactical error for him to claim that he had sex with two of the gals. After
all, we know that hookers are not always know for their cleanliness, and so
it's conceivable, at least the argument can be made to the jury, that the gals
had sex with Todd, failed to take a shower or bath afterwards, went back to
prostituting themselves, and got picked up by someone ELSE, who is the real
killer.
Apparently Todd is wise enough to practice safe sex. A USED condom containing
his DNA was found at one of the three body dump sites. How tactically STUPID of
Todd, to not simply TAKE the used condom WITH him, when he left the dump site.
We also learn that Todd has a criminal history of not just sexually
assaulting gals, but trying to STRANGLE them as well. He didn't get the
strangulation job done in his early attempts, but you know what they say:
"Practice makes perfect". And ya gotta admit that Todd's strangulation
technique worked VERY well in 1999, as he successfully killed all three of the
gals that he targeted.
Cops searched Todd's car and found several interesting items, including
plastic "stripping" that can be used to strangle a person to death. As reported
previously, Todd is an avid reader, and inside his car, a book was found,
titled: "The Killing Gift". It's a murder novel dealing with "a woman who can
kill people without touching them." I assume that she DOES kill people in the
book. Sounds VERY interesting! I have not read or heard of this book, but
obviously the fact that a setial killer was reading it, and hopefully enjoying
it, peaks my interest to a MAJOR degree. Lemme bop on over to amazon.com and
see what I can find out about this book. Hang on.....
Okay! The author is Bari Wood, and the book was apparently first published
about 20 years ago. Sadly, it is out of print. I found one book review, and it
is a VERY positive one. Gal who read the book just this past January, reviews
it as follows, at the Amazon site: "January 6, 1999 5 out of 5 stars Excellent,
captivating, I've read it several times. A truly unusual book written 20 years
ago. I've read it several times to relive the thoughts of the main characters
and their stuggles with the amazing power of Jennifer." Wow! I'm tempted to try
to locate a used copy of this book, because it sounds so cool, especially given
the fact that serial killer Todd was READING it during & after his gal
slaughter spree.
We learn that it WAS on the NIGHT of the "memorial vigil" for the 3 victims
that an UNDERCOVER female cop deliberately posed as a hooker, making herself
LOOK like the three victims, and yes indeed, Todd fell for the BAIT, tried to
solicit her, and that's when he first became identified as a suspect. See
folks, cops are ALWAYS playing these MALICIOUS, DEVIOUS games of entrapment.
You MUST be a tactical GENIUS to steer clear of all the traps, if you are in
fact an active predator.
Another archive of older articles on this case can be accessed from the
following URL:
http://www.oregonlive.com/special/99/murders.html
Take care, JOE
The following appears courtesy of today's Reuters news wire:
July 21, 1999
Reuters
(PORTLAND) The case of the "Forest Park Serial Killer" will soon be in the
hands of a Portland grand jury. Todd Reed appeared in court yesterday. He's
accused of strangling three women and dumping their bodies in Forest Park. Reed
is being held without bail. A grand jury will review his case on July 27th.
------------------------------------------------------------
The following appears courtesy of the 7/20/99 online edition of The KOIN-TV,
local Portland, Oregon TV station web site:
Police Say DNA Links Forest Park Suspect
Alleged Serial Killer Admitted To Sex With 2 Victims
PORTLAND, July 20, 1999 -- Portland Police have filed court documents saying
they have DNA evidence linking their suspect to the three homeless women found
strangled in Forest Park.
Todd Alan Reed was arraigned this afternoon on three counts of aggravated
murder. Family members crowded the courtroom and cried during the proceedings.
Police say that two of the victims had been strung out on heroin shortly before
being strangled and that all three worked as prostitutes to support their drug
habits.
Police also say that after interviewing Reed, he admitted to having sex with
two of the victims in the past.
Authorities zeroed in on Reed after a policewoman posed as a prostitute in a
sting operation.
According to court documents, bodily fluids found in a used condom nearby one
of victims and on the thighs of another match Reed's DNA.
Court documents also reveal that Reed has a history of sexual assault and
strangulation attempts.
In 1992, he was convicted of attempted rape. That victim said Reed tried to
choke her with a belt prior to the crime.
Police say they searched Reed's car recently and found plastic stripping that
could be used to strangulate people.
They also say they found a book called "The Killing Gift." That is a murder
novel about a woman who can kill people without touching them.
------------------------------------------------------
The following apopears courtesy of the 7/21/99 online edition of The Portland
Oregonian newspaper:
Affidavit details police case in serial killings
Todd Alan Reed, who is charged with three counts of aggravated murder, was
spotted by officers and linked through DNA
Wednesday, July 21, 1999
By Maxine Bernstein of The Oregonian staff
A man in a dark-colored sports car waved at a woman with shoulder-length brown
hair on West Burnside Street near Northwest 20th Avenue. He motioned for her to
come to his car. Then he drove past again, parked behind a nearby video store
and watched her. He had no idea she was an undercover police officer.
Portland police Sgt. John Bocciolatt watched the man early that July morning,
exactly two months after the first of three women from the area was found
strangled in Forest Park. About 5:20 a.m., he walked up to the man's car.
The driver identified himself, even told Bocciolatt he was a registered sex
offender and gave him permission to search the car. In the hatchback, the
sergeant found an open, unused condom; in the glove compartment, a novel, "The
Killing Gift."
Eleven days after the sting, Portland police took the man, Todd Alan Reed, 32,
into custody and identified him as a suspect in the serial killings after
delving deeper into his criminal record, according to an affidavit released
Tuesday that outlines the investigation and the evidence.
DNA samples taken from one Forest Park victim and from a used condom found near
the body of another matched that of Reed, whose DNA profile was recorded after
a 1992 sexual assault arrest, the affidavit states.
Reed, with a light-brown beard and glasses, was arraigned Tuesday in Multnomah
County Circuit Court on three counts of aggravated murder. Relatives of those
killed -- Lilla Faye Moler, 28, Stephanie Lynn Russell, 26, and Alexandria
Nicole Ison, 17 -- squeezed each other's hands, put their arms around one
another in the front row of the courtroom and glared at Reed as he entered.
Reed turned to defense lawyer James Lang and looked down at some court
documents but did not acknowledge the families in the courtroom.
"I can't tell you what I feel inside . . . what I'd like to . . .," Susan Ison,
Alexandria's mother, said, her voice cracking. "I'm glad he's locked up, that's
all. I wanted to see him, but he couldn't even look at us."
Prosecutors will present the case to a grand jury early next week, said Norm
Frink, a chief deputy district attorney. If convicted of aggravated murder,
Reed could face the death penalty.
The affidavit used to show probable cause detailed how the 16-member Forest
Park Task Force, faced with few clues but hundreds of tips, narrowed its
investigation to one suspect and made an arrest.
The following is outlined in the affidavit:
The three women, discovered May 7 and 8 and June 2, were all strangled and were
found in a heavily wooded section of Forest Park off Northwest Saltzman Road.
The first victim, Moler, who was discovered by hikers, was lying face down,
partially concealed by waist- and shoulder-high grass and blackberry vines. She
wore only dark-colored socks and had a green bodysuit-type shirt wrapped around
her neck. A used condom, discarded among the berry vines and vegetation, was
found about 28 feet away.
Russell was found a day later about 80 yards downhill from Moler, also nude and
with visible strangulation marks.
Ison was located about 25 yards south of the paved part of Northwest Saltzman
Road, off what looked like a faint deer path.
Investigators were struck by the women's similar facial features, height,
weight and hairstyle. They interviewed relatives and friends and profiled each
victim. They learned that all three frequented upper West Burnside Street, had
heroin addiction problems and engaged in prostitution. Toxicology results
showed all had used heroin shortly before their deaths.
Sting operation
Early on July 7, the same day the victims' families held an evening vigil at
the park, an officer posed as a prostitute on West Burnside.
"The appearance of the officer chosen to be the decoy was altered to make her
look similar to the homicide victims," the affidavit states.
During the sting, once Bocciolatt approached Reed, talked to him and searched
his car, Reed drove away.
Police later picked up a copy of the book in Reed's car, a murder novel about a
woman who is able to kill people without touching them. They also learned that
a security guard had found one of Russell's identification cards in North
Portland, just three blocks from where Reed lived. And they further checked his
record.
Detective Sgt. Dave Schlegel, a task force member, had arrested Reed in 1992 in
a sexual assault and kidnapping case. In that incident, Reed lured a
24-year-old woman to his car on the pretense he needed directions, according to
court documents. The woman told police Reed forced her into the car at
knifepoint, raped her and fastened a belt around her neck, records show. She
escaped, and he was convicted of attempted rape and served three years behind
bars, between 1992 and 1995.
Criminalist Karen Lawless of the Oregon State Police Crime Lab compared DNA
swabs taken from Russell and from the condom found near Moler with Reed's DNA
profile in the previous rape case.
"The material collected from the condom is a match to the convicted offender
standard from Todd Reed," the affidavit states. "The material collected from
the swabs of Stephanie Russell's thighs also contains DNA from Todd Reed."
DNA is deoxyribonucleic acid, the material in chromosomes that identifies a
person's unique genetic makeup, often described as a genetic fingerprint.
Databases that hold DNA profiles of convicted felons help provide law
enforcement officials with leads when they're trying to solve cases in which
blood, semen, saliva or hair has been left behind. DNA taken from a crime scene
is analyzed against the DNA profiles of convicted felons stored in these
databases to determine whether there are matches, or "cold hits."
Watching suspect's house
In the past week, police kept 24-hour surveillance on Reed at his home and at
his job at Rinella Produce on Southeast Alder Street.
Reed had lived with a girlfriend in a single-family home on North Commercial
Avenue for at least the past four years. He and his wife divorced in November
1997 after nine years. His ex-wife was awarded custody of their two sons, ages
11 and 8, but they visited Reed regularly.
During their surveillance, police watched Reed pick up his children at various
places for his regular visits. In 1998, Reed obtained a restraining order
against his ex-wife, alleging that she had threatened to kill him and
threatened his partner and their property unless he made child-support payments
to her. A Multnomah County judge ordered her to stay at least 150 feet away
from Reed.
At least once during their surveillance, officers followed as Reed drove in
circles around West Burnside and Sandy Boulevard.
About 7:30 p.m. Sunday, after Reed had left by bicycle for work, police
executed a warrant to search his home and car. His girlfriend opened the door
to officers, and they spent hours taking photographs and removing evidence.
Hours later, she phoned Reed at his job. As soon as he got off the phone,
co-workers said, he walked to his bicycle, which was chained to a fence, and
police moved in.
Reed was arrested at 11:30 p.m. as he was about to leave in the middle of his
shift.
Callers recognize him
Since police announced his arrest Monday, the Portland Police Bureau has
received more calls from people who recognized him, said Detective Sgt. Cheryl
Kanzler, a spokeswoman. The task force will continue for at least one month as
it prepares to bring the Reed case to trial and follows up outstanding tips,
Kanzler said.
Barbara Nees, 40, described herself as a former prostitute who frequented the
West Burnside Street area. She said she had "dated" Reed several times in the
past 1½ years and had spoken to investigators about a month ago.
"He used to walk around all the time," said Nees, who knew Reed by the name
Terry. "We're all just going, 'Whoa.' We're upset these women got killed, and
they shouldn't have had to before he got picked up."
Reed was ordered to attend a sex-offender treatment program as part of his
post-prison release conditions after his previous sexual assault case. In the
past two weeks, he failed to attend, authorities said.
Relatives of the victims vowed to follow the case as it goes through the
judicial system.
"I wanted to be here, but I can't understand how someone like that could take
these girls," said Mike Russell, Stephanie's uncle.
Kevin Martin, Moler's brother, said it didn't seem real as he sat in the
courtroom Tuesday and watched the man accused of killing three women.
"I felt anger, hate, sorrow, because they're just children," Martin said. "What
leads people to do that?"
David R. Anderson and Robin Franzen of The Oregonian staff contributed to this
report.
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