THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, July 22, 1995 TAG: 9507220243
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE MATHER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
Despite investing thousands of hours tracking an elusive serial killer, investigators said Friday they still don't have a suspect, and they appealed for public help to solve 10 related slayings.
Police at a news conference said they have opened a special post office box and a telephone hotline to collect tips from people who may have information about the crimes, which began in July 1987.
Since the body of 18-year-old Norfolk resident Charles Smith was found in the Bowers Hill section, the bodies of 10 men have been discovered in rural sections of Chesapeake, Suffolk and Isle of Wight. All but one were dumped nude. All were strangled. Most had ties or contacts with the gay community.
``Someone out there is going to solve this,'' said Detective Mike Fischetti, one of several local investigators working on the case.
Fischetti said most of the leads he and the rest of the serial-killer task force are following have come from public tips. Investigators from Chesapeake, Suffolk, Isle of Wight and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have teamed to chase leads. None, however, has led to arrests.
That has disappointed the families and friends of four victims who attended the news briefing at the city's main library.
``I came because I wanted to know how far the police had gotten,'' said 19-year-old Ramona Taylor, who married Garland Taylor Jr. just three weeks before he became the ninth victim. Taylor's body was found Sept. 17 in a Suffolk ditch. He was 24.
``I don't know if Garland was targeted by this person, and I don't know if this person is now after me or my family,'' Ramona Taylor said. ``It's frightening. It really does worry me. I don't know why he was killed.''
In the lexicon of criminal scientists, the killer plaguing South Hampton Roads is an ``organized'' serial killer. That means he chooses low-risk victims and is adept at covering his tracks.
It also means he will be difficult to catch. Organized serial killers are among the most elusive criminals.
Police have retraced the last steps of several victims. Most were last seen in or around Norfolk gay bars, and several had stayed at the Union Mission in downtown Norfolk. Most were transients.
Police are asking anyone with information about the crimes to call the serial-killer hotline at 436-8900, or write to The Chesapeake Police Department, P.O. Box 16291, Chesapeake, Va. 23328.
Callers can remain anonymous. The reward is up to $5,000.
Also beginning Monday, Crime Line Chronicles will feature the serial-killer case in a two-part series. The locally produced TV show, similar to ``America's Most Wanted,'' is shown on several Hampton Roads cable channels and the Fox Network. Times of the broadcasts vary. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by MARTIN SMITH-RODDEN, Staff
From left, detectives C.B. Nurney, Isle of Wight Sheriff's
Department; John K. Cooke, Suffolk Police Department; and Mike
Fischetti, Chesapeake Police Department, ask for the public's help
in solving 10 slayings at a news conference Friday.
KEYWORDS: MURDER SERIAL KILLER by CNB