THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 28, 1996 TAG: 9601280143
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE MATHER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines
The body of a nude man found face down Saturday in a Western Branch ditch may be the 11th victim of a serial killer who has targeted hustlers, drifters and transients since the summer of 1987.
Police spokeswoman Elizabeth Jones wouldn't speculate on the connections between this apparent homicide and 10 others linked to a serial killer, saying the department ``is not going to release that information at this time because we don't know for sure. We are going to wait for the autopsy to come back, and then we'll go from there.''
Detectives did concede, however, that the circumstances surrounding this case and the 10 other cases are strikingly similar. Also, the two chief investigators of the Serial Killer Task Force, Detectives Mike Fischetti and John Cooke, were called and met where the body was found, at the dead-end of Jolliff Road.
Cooke, a Suffolk Police Department detective, would not be called for a Chesapeake homicide, unless the homicide was believed linked to the serial killings.
Saturday's case bears similarities to the other 10 for these reasons:
All but one of the victims were dumped nude. The first victim, 18-year-old Charles F. Smith, was found wearing only jeans and tennis shoes.
Most were dumped on rural Chesapeake roadsides in plain view. Although secluded, the dump sites are usually close to major interstates or highways. Saturday's dump site was along a narrow, sparsely populated road within sight of Interstate 664.
None of the bodies, including Saturday's, showed signs of overt trauma. Of the 10 known serial-killer victims, eight were strangled. The other two were probably strangled, but the bodies were too badly decomposed when found for investigators to be sure.
Three of the last four serial-killer victims were dumped where they would be quickly discovered and reported. Saturday's victim was dumped near a residence without any apparent effort to conceal the body.
As of late Saturday, police had not identified the body or determined the cause of death. . Investigators said they plan to compare the body's fingerprints with criminals' fingerprints kept in an extensive computer file. Several victims had minor police records, and some were identified using similar means.
This apparent slaying comes eight months after the body of the 10th serial-killer victim, Samuel E. Aliff, 31, was found on Rotunda Avenue on May 14, 1995. Aliff's body was found eight months after the discovery of victim No. 9.
The average span between slayings is about 10 months. The longest gap was three years; the shortest was three months.
Police on Saturday were looking for a red pickup truck with a white stripe on each side, and a red camper shell. Residents told police the truck was seen nearby before the body was found. ILLUSTRATION: Map
WHERE THE BODIES WERE FOUND
Graphics
WHOM TO CALL
Anyone with information is asked to call Chesapeake Crime Line at
487-1234, or Detective Mike Fischetti at 436-8458.
THE VICTIMS
[For complete graphic, please see microfilm]
KEYWORDS: MURDER STRANGULATION by CNB