4 girls & women,3 known hookers,are viciously attacked in recent weeks in small CA town,3 die,police suspect serial killer at work
Joe1orbit
If I mention the word "Pittsburg", most humans probably think of
Pennsylvania. However, that city is actually named Pittsburgh, and there are
several smaller town across the USA that go by the name of Pittsburg, minus the
H at the end. One of those small towns is in CA, not far from the city of
Oakland, and it is there that we must journey to hear about the VERY
interesting possibility that there may be a serial killer active and on the
loose in the Pittsburg area.
Pittsburg is a smallish town of only perhaps 25,000 residents. However, in
recent months, 2 female hookers have been found murdered in the same
neighborhood of the town. A THIRD hooker has been found severely beaten, and is
hospitalized in critical condition. Police strongly believe that there is good
reason to think that all 3 of these attacks may be linked to a single enraged
perpetrator. Additionally, a 15 year old girl named Lisa Norell was found dead
last month, also in the SAME general area as 2 of the hookers. Very
interesting! It certainly does seem as though a serial predator is at work
here. My advice to him however, would be to BROADEN his hunting ground from now
on. It is VERY hard to remain "undetectable" if you are a serial killer and
operate in a small town, ESPECIALLY if you target hookers primarily and
actually limit yourself to a SMALL area of the town. This fellow, if indeed he
is responsible for all 3 attacks and 2 killings, needs to spread out and not
keep going back to this same town, despite the SUCCESS that he has enjoyed up
to this point in time.
We also learn that the dead body of a FOURTH woman was found dumped in a
ditch just 1-2 days ago, and police are ruling the death of this 32 year old to
be a homicide as well, although they refuse to confirm any possible link to the
other 4 killings. Interestingly, this 5th homicide victim had NO visible
injuries or wounds to her body, but cops QUICKLY decided that she WAS in fact
murdered. The 15 year old girl was choked/strangled to death. One of the other
victims, aged 24, was STABBED and beaten to death. If these FOUR attacks are
the work of one killer, he is doing a fine job of varying his killing modus
operandi.
But he needs to be concerned that the one victim who SURVIVED his attack,
and remains in critical condition suffering from a broken jaw, damaged eye
socket and facial cuts and bruises, might be able to HELP police by describing
her attacker. No doubt this woman, whose name is NOT being released, is under
HEAVY police guard in the hospital.
Take care, JOE
The following appears courtesy of today's Reuters news wire:
Police Suspect Serial Killer
12/17/98
Reuters
(PITTSBURG) -- Pittsburg may have a serial killer on the loose. Police say two
women, both reported prostitutes, have been found dead in the area. A third,
another reported prostitute, was found badly beaten and is in serious condition
at a local hospital. Last month, 15-year- old Lisa Norell's body was found in
the same area of town as two of the victims.
---------------------------------------------------------
The following appears courtesy of today's Associated Press news wire:
Police treat Pittsburg death as homicide
12/17/98
PITTSBURG, Calif (AP) -- A 32-year-old woman, the third found dead in an
industrial part of town, may have been the victim of a prostitute killer,
police said.
Investigators are checking with Contra Costa County sheriff's investigators who
say another woman, a prostitute, was found beaten to death early Tuesday in the
Bay Point area, Pittsburg police Lt. William Zbacnik said.
The body of Rachel Cruise was found about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday. Zbacnik said the
body had apparently been dumped within a day before it was found.
But he said the theory about Cruise's death is still speculation since police
have no record of her working as a prostitute in Pittsburg.
However, known Pittsburg prostitutes recognized Cruise from a photograph and he
said Cruise's mother suspected her daughter might have begun working the
streets and using drugs, Zbacnik said.
Her mother described Rachel Cruise as "steadily employed until 1994" when she
took off, leaving behind a boyfriend and two children. The children are living
with their father in Pittsburg.
Zbacnik said the father not a suspect at this time.
Cruise's death is being treated as a homicide, which would make her the ninth
so far this year in Pittsburg -- compared to five last year.
Investigators cannot link this homicide with the Nov. 14 death of 15-year-old
Lisa Norrell or the stabbing death of Jessica Frederick, an alleged prostitute
whose body was found Dec. 5, Zbacnik said.
Both Norrell and Frederick were found dead in the same part of Pittsburg where
Cruise was found.
A spokesman for the Contra Costa County Coroner's Office says the cause of
death for Cruise is not yet known. He said an autopsy will be completed
Thursday.
---------------------------------------------------------
The following appears courtesy of the 12/17/98 online edition of The Contra
Costa Times newspaper:
Published on December 17, 1998
No wounds found on woman's body
•Pittsburg police decline to speculate whether death of mother of two is
related to homicides in recent weeks of two other females
TO HELP:
The Cruise family is seeking donations to help with the cost of a funeral for
Rachael Cruise. Address checks to "Mary C. Cruise -- Rachael's Trust Fund,"
account number 0589-353507 at Wells Fargo Bank, 3001 Railroad Ave., Pittsburg,
CA 94565.
By Ryan Kim
TIMES STAFF WRITER
PITTSBURG -- The last time Mary Cruise saw her daughter, she gave her a
customary warning that carried new weight with the recent killings of two women
in Pittsburg.
"I said, 'Be careful,' " said Cruise, remembering her words from Friday
morning. "And she said, 'I can take care of myself.' "
But on Tuesday, the body of Rachael Clara Cruise, 32, was found in a ditch
along California Avenue.
Police identified Cruise's body Tuesday night by matching her fingerprints to
Washington state records through the FBI computer index. Pittsburg police Lt.
William Zbacnik said it was unclear when she was in Washington and why her
fingerprints were on file.
Zbacnik said there is no evidence that Cruise was murdered. The body showed no
visible injuries. Police would not say how Cruise was dressed.
Nevertheless, police are treating the unexplained death as a homicide. The
county Coroner's Office began an autopsy to determine the cause of death on
Wednesday morning and was expected to finish today.
Zbacnik said there is no sign that Cruise's death is related to the Pittsburg
killings of 15-year-old Lisa Diane Norrell and Jessica L. Frederick, 24.
Norrell, who died of asphyxiation, was found near the Pittsburg-Antioch Highway
on Nov. 14 about a half-mile from where Cruise's body was discovered.
Frederick, who was stabbed, cut and beaten, was found Dec. 5 on Industry Road,
about two miles away.
"We don't rule anything out, but until we establish a commonality, we won't
speculate on if they're related," Zbacnik said.
Police also are investigating whether the recent killings in Pittsburg are
related to the near-fatal beating of a suspected prostitute in Bay Point early
Tuesday. Police believe Frederick may have been a prostitute, but they have no
evidence linking Cruise to prostitution, Zbacnik said. Lisa was a high school
student with no criminal record.
The beating victim, whose name has been withheld, was assaulted inside a
portable toilet near a rest stop on Willow Pass Road, said Contra Costa
sheriff's Lt. George Lawrence. She remained in critical condition Wednesday at
John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek with a broken jaw, damaged eye socket
and facial cuts and bruises, he said.
Detectives have interviewed family members and friends of Cruise, including
ex-boyfriend Robert Myers, the father of Cruise's two children. Myers is not a
suspect in the case, said Zbacnik.
Pittsburg and Antioch police officers closed the Pittsburg-Antioch Highway on
Wednesday morning after an officer found the contents of a purse in the road
near Verne Roberts Circle. The items were collected, but it has not been
determined if they belong to Cruise.
Police also have looked into a report that a red car was seen Monday night on
California Avenue.
Meanwhile, as family members huddled inside their Pittsburg apartment
Wednesday, they battled the tears and rage. Christian Cruise, Rachael's younger
brother, speculated that his sister's death and the killings of Norrell and
Frederick may be the work of one person.
"This doesn't happen all the time in Pittsburg," said Cruise, 30. "We might
have some shady characters in Pittsburg, but I didn't know there was someone
out there like this."
Rachael Cruise, family members said, lived a hard existence but managed to make
it through each day with a smile. A native of Oakland, she moved to Pittsburg
in 1978. She gave custody of her 8-year-old son, Robert, and 5-year-old
daughter, Chelsea, to Myers when the couple separated in 1994.
Police say Rachael traveled widely around the country before returning to live
with her mother last year. Christian Cruise said his sister had drug problems
in the past but had been clean since April 1997.
Police, however, picked up Rachael Cruise in August on suspicion of being under
the influence of drugs. No charges were filed in the case.
During the last several months, police said, Cruise often left home for days at
a time and returned without saying where she had been. That's why family
members say they did not file a missing persons report this time.
Christian Cruise said his sister, in an effort to find steady work, was going
to a job interview Friday morning. Earlier this year, she quit her job at
Burger King and was fired from a job at Hazel's Drive-In in Pittsburg,
according to employees at both eateries.
Cruise was also striving to play a larger role in her children's lives.
"She was making inroads with her children, and she was determined to find
another job," said Christian Cruise. "Whatever she went through in life, she
always loved her kids."
Myers, 38, said Cruise loved her time with her children, who are struggling
with the loss, he said.
"The oldest one, he took it real hard because he spent more time with her,"
said Myers, a maintenance worker at a local mobile home park.
Mary Cruise said her daughter was a trusting type who overlooked the bad in
people. She had a happy-go-lucky approach to life and was happiest when she was
crocheting, hanging out with her kids or singing along to her favorite tunes.
"She'd always bust in my room and play Rod Stewart, and we'd just sing along
together," Christian Cruise said.
The family says they intend to keep the pressure on police and are prepared to
do anything they can to find Cruise's killer.
"The Pittsburg police better account for this," said Christian Cruise. "There's
just too much of this out there."
Other residents also voiced heightened fears. Homeless advocates are
instructing people to take extra precautions.
At Shelter Inc. in Pittsburg, program director Kitty Duma warned tenants after
police found Frederick's body.
"We told them to be really careful, not to walk alone at night and just watch
out and be safe," said Duma.
Duma's staff worries about walking to parked cars at night. . Four of her six
staff members are women.
Ron Curcio, owner of Antioch Armory, anticipates an increase in pepper spray
sales.
One man in his store on Wednesday inquired about buying pepper spray for a
girlfriend who lives near the site where police found Cruise's body.
"The concern is there," Curcio said.
Staff writer Charles Levin contributed to this story.
Fairweather Friend
Rapist suspect in Valley slayings
This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press December 15, 1998.
By STACY MATROS
Valley Press Staff Writer
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
PALMDALE - A conscientious detective in Palmdale may have given homicide
detectives a new suspect in several old cases involving slain prostitutes
from the Antelope Valley.
The man being scrutinized is a convicted rapist who lives in Lancaster.
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Detective Julia Honiger informed the
homicide division when Glenn Bernard Hilke was arrested on charges of
kidnapping, forcible sodomy and attempted sodomy.
He was arrested on the sex crime charges three weeks ago. Now, he is under
investigation in the prostitute killings.
Honiger "did a real good job," said Detective Diane Harris, whose search for
Stephanie Renshaw's killer was given new life by Honiger's message.
"She indicated they had someone in custody and gave us specifics and so I
gave her a call."
The usual procedure is to send a teletyped message to the division regarding
who is picked up for what crime, in the possibility that homicide detectives
will find a pattern or link that may open up a case.
Honiger's call was put on the "homicide board" where detectives could see it
as they walked past.
Harris, who has been looking into the August 1997 slaying of Renshaw, said
DNA evidence will determine if Hilke was involved with Renshaw's suffocation
death.
Renshaw, 25, who family members and friends described to detectives as a
prostitute, was found suffocated in a field east of the Antelope Valley
Freeway and north of Palmdale Boulevard by a transient cutting through the
area.
"We are currently looking at three different cases where prostitutes have
been found dead in that area," Harris said. "The only reason we are looking
at Hilke is because he is being charged with assaulting prostitutes and he
lives in the area."
Hilke, 36, was convicted in 1988 of forcible rape and recently went through
a preliminary hearing on the charges of sexual assault of one prostitute and
attempted assault of a woman who claims not to be a prostitute but has one
prostitution conviction on her record.
Hilke's lawyer, Avrum Harris, a deputy alternate public defender, was
unavailable for comment.
John Yarborough, a "profiler" in the homicide division, looked into the
possibility that the killer may have been Wayne Adam Ford, the man who
turned himself in to Arcata Police in Northern California, and admitted to
killing four women.
Each of his victims were prostitutes who were strangled, then left by a
major highway.
"As far as we know right now, (Ford) did not come through the Antelope
Valley," Harris said. "What they are doing is checking the areas in his
routes but even if he loaded the station wagon and came down here,
Yarborough will definitely start looking to our girls."
DNA evidence will be taken from Hilke, but the results of those tests and
potential matches won't be known for several months.
--
"If Ignorance is Bliss, I have met some really ecstatic people!"
-Raven Q Fairweather
Joe1orbit wrote in message <19981217141413...@ng40.aol.com>...
Joe1orbit
>How far is Pittsburgh from Palmdale?
Hello Raven,
Thanks VERY much for posting this fascinating news article. To answer your
question, these 2 towns are not VERY far apart, perhaps 200 miles from each
other. Pittsburg is in the mid-north part of CA, over near Oakland-San
Francisco. Palmdale is in the mid-south part of CA, around Bakersfield, 100
miles or so north of Los Angeles. So the possibility that this Palmdale serial
rapist/killer suspect COULD be involved in the Pittsburg attacks cannot be
ruled out. BUT, if this suspect has been kept in JAIL for the past 3 weeks,
that would mean he was not in a position to commit...probably 2 of the 4 recent
Pittsburg attacks.
Take care, JOE
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