Update on active & at-large Spokane,WA area serial killer of 9+ gals in past 18 months,1 yr.anniversary of Task Force formation,NO suspects or leads
Joe1orbit
As most of you no doubt know by now, there is an active and on-the-loose
serial killer targeting female hookers and druggies, in Washington state. This
cunningly talented serial predator is committing most of his killings in the
Spokane area, but is also plucking a few victims from the other side of the
state, in the Seattle-Tacoma area, which is of course the hunting ground that
one of the MOST impressively undetectable serial killers of all time, the Green
River Killer, operated in. Police have consistently maintained that they find
no reason to believe that the ONGOING serial murders of gals in WA are being
committed by the Green River Killer. Whether or not they are telling the TRUTH,
is an open question, IMO.
But they are telling us that over the past 18 months a NEW and VERY active
predator has been serially slaughtering female hookers & prosties, and has
claimed at LEAST 9 victims already, and IMO, quite a few more. It has now been
an entire year since the police formed a SPECIAL "Spokane Serial Killer Task
Force", whose SOLE mission was to track down and capture ONE man, this serial
predator. In the VERY cool update below, we learn that after 365 days of
intensive task force investigation, where MANY cops spent their ENTIRE year
focusing on NOTHING else beyond this one serial killer, the task force has made
ABSOLUTELY no headway of any kind, in terms of identifying and capturing the
killer! You see folks, a CUNNING serial killer, who does not make tactical
mistakes, is virtually uncatchable, no matter how many police or FBI agents
might be desperately searching for him. The ONLY way that serial killers get
caught is if they commit their killings in a tactically inferior manner, or if
they make MISTAKES, tactical mistakes, in how they locate their victims, how
they dispose of the bodies, how they interact with the media, etc... The bottom
line is that serial killers get caught because they trip THEMSELVES up, not
because cops have any "secret weapons" or superior investigative skills that
they can bring to bear upon a case.
I must say that the below news item did brighten my spirits on this otherwise
busy and stressful morning. It's interesting to note how the MYSTERY of WHO
this SK is, how he commits his crimes, etc....serves to increase the
fascination and "mystique" of him, among the local community, and of course
among all serial killer afficianados, across the world. Just like with the CA
Zodiac, Green River in WA, etc..., a serial killer who gets his killings LINKED
together, but no actual suspect is arrested or charged, is guaranteed to become
QUITE famous, if he kills enough people and gets a LOT of killings linked to
him. This Spokane fellow is certainly on the right track, 9 CONFIRMED victims
in 19 months time IS a very torrid pace.
One MO of this serial killer, that police ARE making public, is that he
SHOOTS all of his victims in the head at point-blank range, then dumps their
bodies in VERY isolated spots. I don't think he CARES if the bodies are
eventually discovered. His hope is to DELAY discovery for as long as possible.
Almost all of the bodies have been found VERY much decayed, indicating thathey
were killed at LEAST a month before the bodies were found. Several bodies have
been found right NEXT to each other, at the same dump site. My unsolicited
advice to this serial killer would be to STOP going back to any of your old
dump sites, with new victims. This is simply a tactically FOOLISH thing to do.
A co-commander of the special Task Force demonstrates to us just how BLIND
and HELPLESS he and his fellow cops truly are, in terms of catching this
killer. He declares: "A big break in the case could come tomorrow. Or next
week. Or never. The possibility exists that we could stumble onto our serial
killer in any number of ways. You always hope for that." Yes indeed, commander
Doug. Keep on clinging to your "hopeful possibilities". The fact is, you are at
the MERCY of this serial killer, a man that I believe is a cunning and
tactically brilliant individual who will NOT make stupid mistakes and will not
fall into your blatant and blundering entrapment attempts. Even this commander,
knowing that if he PROMISES too much and fails to deliver, he might have his
precious task force disbanded, declares: "Like we said initially, we're
probably looking at a three- to five-year process in terms of catching this
killer." Okay, so he has given himself FOUR more years of breathing space, at
which point in time he will be old enough to RETIRE and can forget all about
this case, while our enraged predator remains footloose and fancy-free and
keeps on killing.
Meanwhile, the manpower and financial resources being devoted to this task
force are BOTH increasing. I bet our cunning serial killer feels a thrill of
pleasure, reading about himself and knowing how an entire county is spending
millions of dollars just to try and capture him.
Just like I have stated in previous posts, it is a VERY wise move on the part
of this killer to BROADEN his stalking ground, and to claim a few victims from
across the state, in the Sea-Tac area. The Task Force commander ADMITS that
this IS indeed adding to the frustration and difficulty factor that the task
force has, in terms of identifying & capturing this fellow. Ya gotta admire a
serial killer like this one. He is making ALL the right moves. He is obviously
full of homicidal rage and yet, yet totally in control of his actions. He is
obviously very intelligent, a scholar and student of tactics, determined to
satisfy his bloodlust and yet NOT make any foolish mistakes. He is leading with
his HEAD, with his intellect, not with his heart and emotions, in terms of
choosing and undertaking and committing each killing. This IS the perfect
recipe for being a prolific, successful, and never captured, serial harvestor
of humans.
Take care, JOE
The following appears courtesy of the 12/27/98 online edition of The Spokane
Spokesman-Review newspaper:
The wait is agonizing for families
12/27/98
Serial killer task force has made little noticeable headway in a year
Adam Lynn/The Spokesman-Review
They wait, and they suffer.
In the dark of night. When the telephone rings. At the memories, the unknown,
the horror.
A year has done little to ease the pain of the people who have lost a loved one
to Spokane's serial killer.
The task force of detectives created a year ago to pursue the predator
continues to grind away at the case. They say they're making headway, but their
behind-the-scenes work has produced few noticeable results.
Friends and relatives of the victims, meanwhile, wait for answers, justice and
relief.
``Years ago, I'd wait for some random call from my daughter,'' says Barbara
Scott, whose daughter, Darla Sue, is thought to have died at the hands of the
serial killer last fall.
``She'd always call and say, `Hi, Mom.' Now, I wait for a call from someone
telling me her murder's been solved. This waiting is harder.''
This Christmas season has turned into torture for Kathy Lloyd, who lives on
Spokane's near north side. Her house is festooned with twinkling lights and
decorations, but her heart is dark with thoughts of suicide.
Her sister, Shawn McClenahan, was found dead in an abandoned gravel pit the day
after Christmas last year.
Authorities believe she and Laurie Ann Wason, whose body was found in the same
place on the same day, are victims of the serial killer.
``This is the lowest month for me,'' says Lloyd, sitting in the dim light of
her dining room, dragging on a cigarette. ``Shawn was a big hugger. I'd give
anything for just one more hug. Sometimes, I think I'd like to go join her.''
She pauses for a moment. ``I just keep waiting for the pain to go away.''
Lloyd also waits for answers to the questions that haunt her every day. How was
her sister killed? How long was she dead before her body was found? Did she
suffer before she died? Who killed her and why?
``I know I'm not going to get any of those answers until someone's caught,''
she says.
The people hunting for the killer who shot nine women to death and dumped their
bodies like garbage say the big break could come tomorrow. Or next week. Or
never.
``The possibility exists that we could stumble onto our serial killer in any
number of ways. You always hope for that,'' says sheriff's Capt. Doug Silver, a
co-commander of the task force.
A patrolman could stop a car with a burned-out tail light and find a body in
the trunk and the killer at the wheel.
Someone could witness the murderer snatching a woman off the street or dumping
a corpse in the woods.
The killer could be overcome with regret and confess.
``But, like we said initially, we're probably looking at a three- to five-year
process,'' says Silver, who hopes to catch the killer before he retires in four
years.
That process promises to be grueling.
Since the task force was formed in late December 1997, more than 3,100 tips
have poured into detectives. They include information on possible suspects,
vehicle descriptions, motives and ties between victims.
Close to 1,500 of the leads have been investigated.
The rest are being sorted in crime computers outfitted with evidence-analyzing
software. Tips are pumped into databases and compared against other tidbits for
common ties to a person or place. Any thread could be the one that unravels the
mystery.
Tips also are being assigned to members of the joint city-county task force,
which has doubled in size, from four to eight full-time detectives. The police
and sheriff's departments have spent close to a half-million dollars in the
past year just on personnel costs.
And the cost of the investigation probably will rise.
The Washington State Patrol has agreed to assign a detective to the task force
in January. Sheriff-elect Mark Sterk has hinted he may add more county
investigators to the group when he takes office Jan. 1.
Like the grieving families, the task force detectives -- mostly veteran
homicide investigators -- also wait. They are eager to end the chase that so
far has led them down 1,500 dead ends.
``This is tough for an investigator,'' Silver says. ``One thing an investigator
likes to do and is accustomed to doing is solving crimes. Unfortunately, things
haven't panned out yet.''
Police Capt. Steve Braun said morale on the task force remains high.
``I think things are going extremely well, considering the breadth of the
investigation and the amount of information they are dealing with on a daily
basis,'' Braun says, the task force's other co-commander. ``This is unlike any
case that we've ever had here before.''
The case is further complicated by the fact that the killer seems to be moving
across the state. At least one victim was killed and dumped in Tacoma. Another
woman found dead in Tacoma in October may become victim No. 10.
The task force spent $12,000 on travel during the first year, chasing down
leads from Kitsap County, Wash., to Lewiston, Idaho.
``We firmly believe that this isn't a Spokane problem. It's a state problem,''
Braun says. ``I see that as another challenge in the coming year.''
That challenge will include building a better communications network with
investigators on the west side of the state, he said.
Task force commanders have made several trips to the Puget Sound area to
improve relations, but the sharing of information has been slow at times.
While authorities work out the kinks of cross-state cooperation, potential
victims wait and worry.
Most of the serial killer's targets are women who live in the shadows of
society. They work as prostitutes, use illegal drugs, or both.
Their already difficult lives have been made more so by the fact that they may
be in the cross hairs of the killer, says Lynn Everson, an outreach worker with
the Spokane Regional Health District.
Yet many can't break the cycle that keeps them on the streets, Everson says.
``We're seeing some pretty desperate women out there,'' she says. ``This is a
terrible time of year for women and prostitution. If they're addicted to drugs,
there's no holiday from that.''
Everson, who is part of a group raising money to build a shelter for homeless
women, also waits for the Spokane community to rise up and demand justice for
the serial killer's victims.
A few sparsely attended vigils were held for the serial killer victims last
spring, but lately there's been no public gathering to remember the women.
``I hope that there's a new awareness in our community that these are mothers
and sisters and daughters and friends,'' she says. ``It makes me sad that the
community is not more outraged.''
Community leaders urge patience.
``The task force is just in its nurturing stages right now,'' says City Manager
Bill Pupo, who says he is committed to funding the task force for as long as
police officials believe it is necessary.
``The expectation of the community is based largely on what they watch on
prime-time television, where a case is solved in an hour. That's not the way it
is in real life. Just because you can't see something happening, doesn't mean
nothing is happening.''
County Commissioner Phil Harris agrees.
``We're not just going to stop the money,'' Harris says. ``Some things are more
important than money.''
In the meantime, Barbara Scott, Kathy Lloyd and the rest of the victims' family
and friends hold their own vigils, suffering in private hells and waiting.
``It's hard, hard to wait for word every day,'' Scott says as she starts to cry
into the telephone, the one she rushes to every time it rings, hoping to hear
of the capture of Darla Sue's killer.
``I just hope someone's still out there, searching.''