THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, May 15, 1995 TAG: 9505150034
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Medium: 86 lines
The discovery early Sunday of the body of a nude man, apparently dumped in a cul-de-sac along a seldom-traveled road, has renewed fears that a serial killer may be stalking young men - particularly gay men.
But police weren't ready Sunday night to make that link.
``It's a little early in the investigation,'' said spokesman Richard Black, adding that police are waiting for a report from the state medical examiner. But he did agree that some similarities exist between this case and eight unsolved murders, the most recent of which occurred more than a year ago.
If a link is established, they hope this case will yield clues leading them to the killer or killers.
And they may have gotten a break: the body apparently had been left only minutes before it was discovered. Investigators hope someone may have seen the vehicle from which the victim was presumably dumped.
Police used fingerprints to learn the identity of the victim, but were not releasing the name until relatives could be notified.
The body was found about 6:45 a.m. along Rotunda Avenue near Bowers Hill by a woman who missed a turnoff for Interstate 64 and drove into the cul-de-sac to turn around.
``As she turned around, she saw a body. She thought it was a woman,'' Black said. The woman drove off to call police, and when officers arrived they found the dead man, who police believe was killed elsewhere.
Investigators know the body was not there at 6 a.m., when a police cruiser checked the area.
Police were not surprised someone might dump a body there. It offers a killer two advantages: a semblance of privacy with swift access to multiple escape routes including three interstate highways.
While the paved, lightless cul-de-sac appears to be secluded, it is littered with evidence that it has a life of its own - on the somewhat seamier side.
The cul-de-sac ends at a locked gate marked with Virginia Power Co. signs - several of which are torn with bullet holes. Rusting shell casings are scattered around with alcohol bottles and assorted trash, including used condoms.
A police official called it a ``big-time parking area'' for people indulging in a variety of vices. That's why police check it often.
There was no immediate indication as to how the victim may have died, but there were no signs of blood stains at the scene.
This death comes little more than a year after Raymond L. Onley Jr., 24, killed himself with a shotgun blast just hours before police arrived at his trailer in Moyock to question him about similar murders in the region.
Since July 17, 1987, the bodies of eight men have been found in Hampton Roads - six in Chesapeake and one each in Isle of Wight County and Suffolk. Striking similarities existed in the killings:
Most victims were nude.
Most had been strangled.
Several had evidence of cocaine in their blood.
Evidence showed that some of the victims had recently experienced anal sex.
The cases have been perplexing for police. While there were common threads linking them, there also were some significant differences. For instance, while some of the victims were known homosexuals - one was a hustler who had advertised himself in a gay magazine - at least one was known to be heterosexual and others may not have been gay or exclusively gay.
Police have said it could be that only some of the murders are the work of the same person or people.
Don Davis of Williamsburg, a member of the board of directors of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, said that if this murder is linked to the earlier cases, he believes the area's gay and lesbian community will assist police.
``I'm terrified that someone committing these kinds of crimes is running lose in our community,'' Davis said, ``as I would hope any resident of the Hampton Roads area would be.'' ILLUSTRATION: TIPS SOUGHT
Anyone who might have used or driven by Rotunda Avenue between 6
and 7 a.m. Sunday - or who might have information about the body
found near that road - is asked to call investigators:
Police 547-6161
Crime Line 487-1234
STAFF Map
KEYWORDS: UNIDENTIFIED BODY MURDER by CNB