ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, October 19, 1996 TAG: 9610210027
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: JOHNSON CITY, TENN.
SOURCE: Associated Press
A man suspected of killing women in Virginia and Tennessee has continued to elude authorities who are wondering what prompted a crime spree they attribute to him.
Authorities say Bradley Duane Osborne, 27, a one-time carnival worker, has said he would never surrender. The crime spree began last week and spans two states and more than 250 miles. He is suspected of killing two women and attacking four others.
Authorities have warned that Osborne is dangerous, and Sullivan County Sheriff Keith Carr says Osborne told one of his victims he would not surrender.
Jackson, Tenn., Police Department Lt. Jerry Priddy said Thursday the department has had at least a couple of calls from people who think they've seen Osborne. He has been put on the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation's most-wanted list.
``So far, nobody's found anything,'' Priddy said in a telephone interview.
The car Osborne was believed to be driving was found Wednesday near Jackson.
Madison County Sheriff David Woolfork said the car was located as authorities were checking a report of a suspicious vehicle. The car reportedly had been parked since Monday and a witness saw a white male walking away in a hurry.
Jeff Long, special agent in charge of the TBI's criminal intelligence unit, said the car was found less than two miles from Interstate 40.
``We've had sightings all over Jackson, Arkansas, and Oklahoma,'' he said. ``We're following the leads.''
Osborne, a drifter from Roland, Okla., is suspected of fatally shooting a 22-year-old Bristol, Tenn., woman believed to be his girlfriend in a crime spree that began last week. The body of Stacey Cook was found in a remote part of Washington County, Va., on Oct. 9.
Shortly before that, authorities believe he shot and wounded a former girlfriend in Abingdon. Also last week, authorities believe he tried to kidnap a Bristol woman from a convenience store; kidnapped another woman from a Bristol coin laundry and raped her before taking her car; and tried to abduct a fourth woman at an Elizabethton shopping mall.
On the same day Cook's body was found, Nashville police say Osborne shot a Wilson County woman at a coin laundry. Donetta Keyser, a church secretary, later died.
Nashville is 258 miles west of Bristol. Jackson is another 120 miles west.
``We're not sure what set him off,'' said Washington County Sheriff Kenneth Hayter.
Hayter said alcohol may have been a factor. He said Osborne had been living in the area since May. He had been working with a traveling carnival and that brought him to the Tri-Cities and Southwest Virginia area. Apparently he decided to stay awhile.
Detective T.C. Short of the Jacksonville, Fla., police department said Osborne had been a suspect in a 1994 murder but the prosecutor decided it was a case of justifiable homicide.
He said Osborne was arrested there earlier this year but he doesn't know what the charge was.
Short said Osborne apparently does not have any convictions in Florida.
Osborne is described as about 5-foot-8, 160 pounds with brown eyes and shoulder-length black hair.
LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines KEYWORDS: FATALITYby CNB