Springfield IL: Hayes Murder- Lash shows signs of a serial rapist
Patty
By SARAH ANTONACCI
Springfield State Journal-Register
Dale Lash is behind bars awaiting trial, but police haven't stopped
efforts to link the man they describe as a serial rapist to other
sexual assaults both in Illinois and out of state.
Lash, 37, stands formally charged in the rapes of three women: an
apartment rental agent on Seven Pines Road in 1995, a real estate agent
in a vacant house on Windsor Road last year, and, in August, Lori
Hayes, the 25-year-old Auburn woman he allegedly abducted from the
Parkway Pointe shopping area. He also is accused of killing Hayes.
"We have him for at least three sexual assaults, and I think that meets
all the definitions for a serial rapist I've ever read," said Sgt. Clay
Dowis, head of the Springfield Police Department's Major Case Squad.
Lash, of rural Loami, has been linked to the crimes he's been charged
with through DNA testing, police have said.
Dowis said last week that the task force that investigated Hayes'
murder continues to look into other unsolved rapes in Sangamon County.
He said police have broadcast Lash's activities and description across
Illinois, and that the FBI has broadcast the same information
nationwide.
"His is still being compared to other cases in Sangamon County, and
we're looking at other states as well, including Texas and Indiana.
We've had a couple of responses, but so far nothing that matches,"
Dowis said.
According to serial-rape experts, a perpetrator's method may change
over time. If, as police believe, Lash committed the three rapes he is
accused of in 1995, 1998 and 1999, that same theory would hold true.
In the 1995 case, a knife was used to detain the rental agent against
her will in a vacant apartment.
In the 1998 rape, the weapon was a gun. According to police, Lash
stalked open houses and approached three real estate agents before
contacting one who agreed to a private showing at the house on Windsor
Road.
On Aug. 1, police say Lash carjacked Lori Hayes' vehicle in the parking
lot of the Springfield shopping center. He then took her to a rural
area near Chatham and raped her before shooting her once in the back of
the head, authorities contend.
"We're looking for modus operandi that looks to be comparable to him,"
Dowis said of the review of other cases. "It looks like he may have
changed his method over time ... so we're also looking at suspect
descriptions, which is something that's hard to change too much."
According to information provided by the University of Virginia's
Institute of Law, Psychiatry and Public Policy, about half of a serial
rapist's most identifiable characteristics will remain the same
throughout all of his crimes. A more experienced rapist may demonstrate
more preparation and a greater interest in protecting his identity.
One of the things that stands out about Lash is that at age 37 he had
faced no previous criminal charges.
Experts, however, say that's not unusual for a serial criminal.
"Just because he doesn't have a criminal history doesn't mean he hasn't
raped or hasn't killed before," said Steven Egger, a professor at the
University of Illinois at Springfield who is an expert in serial
killers.
Egger noted a two-fold problem in police procedures in this country.
First, there are too many police agencies, he said, and second, those
agencies usually are not good about sharing information. Generally,
then, it's harder then to catch serial criminals who change their
locations.
But he credits local police agencies, including the Springfield Police
Department, Sangamon County sheriff's office, Illinois State Police and
FBI for working together on the crimes Lash is accused of committing.
"Police either don't share, don't have the facilities to share, or the
management style of the top administrators don't want to share
information with other local departments," Egger said.
"That's not the case here, but because this is present across the
country, it may mean Dale Lash may have other crimes he may have
committed that we don't know about. There may be a pattern to his
actions, and they are probably looking at his travels."
Lash lived in Texas for a while and was in a business that required him
to travel to Indiana. He also lived in Menard County for years and,
according to Springfield police, officials there are reviewing any
unsolved sexual assault cases.
To Egger, who has written two books on serial killers and once worked
as a homicide investigator in Ann Arbor, Mich., serial rapists and
serial murderers are not much different from each other.
"The only difference is the extent of force," he said. "If a rapists
uses too much force, he can kill the victim. If the victim tries to
fight, it causes the rapist to use more force. Rape is not a sexual
crime but a crime of power."
Another concern for police is the fact that rape is an underreported
crime. According to the American Medical Association, less than half of
all rapes are reported. Some estimates indicate that as few as 10
percent of sexual assault victims ever come forward.
"There may be a whole lot of other victims out there that we'll just
never know about because they never reported it," said one person
investigating the Lash case.
Police do believe that Lash often targeted petite women with blond
hair, though not every time.
Egger said that's common.
"Victims will frequently have some symbolic significance for a killer.
There's something they symbolize from the killer's background. That
same theory would hold true for rapists," he said.
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