THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 24, 1996 TAG: 9607240360
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JUNE ARNEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: 80 lines
Police are not releasing the cause of death of the Portsmouth man who may be the 12th victim of a serial killer who has preyed on men in the area since since 1987.
The medical examiner's office completed an autopsy Tuesday on Andrew ``Andre'' D. Smith, 38, of the Truxtun area of Portsmouth. But police have asked that the results not be made public.
Nine of the 11 known serial-killer victims were strangled. The other two victims may have been strangled, but their bodies were too badly decomposed for investigators to be sure.
A Virginia Power worker found Smith's body Monday morning on the shoulder of Yadkin Road near Interstate 64 and George Washington Highway. Authorities said the body had been there no longer than 48 hours and probably less than 24 hours.
Chesapeake police have not officially linked Smith's death to the serial killings, but have said it ``bears many similarities'' to the others.
By noon Tuesday, Chesapeake detectives had received nearly two dozen phone calls from people offering information on the case.
Detectives worked to piece together Smith's life, to find out how he spent his time and who he spent it with, trying to answer the many unanswered questions.
In recent weeks, police had expected the serial killer might strike again. The longest time between killings has been three years, authorities said. The killer usually strikes within three to six months. The last victim was Jesse J. Spencer, whose body was found Jan. 27.
On the narrow lane where Smith lived with family, neighbors talked of the little boy they watched grow to manhood. The houses are close on a street bright with flowers and crape myrtle trees. Family members at the neat brick home where he lived declined to be interviewed.
Neighbors said Smith had a wife or former wife who did not live with him and had two school-age children. Police would not confirm that information.
One neighbor said he knew Smith had worked for a time at Norfolk Southern several years ago, where he did maintenance on coal-handling equipment at Lambert's Point. None of the neighbors knew where Smith had been working recently.
An 86-year-old neighbor talked fondly of Smith and remembered the day he came to her at about age 16 to apologize for pranks he played on her as a child.
``Will you forgive me?'' he said. ``I know I done you wrong.''
She told him she would. ``It made me feel good,'' she said.
He was friendly and polite, she and others said. ``It's really sad,'' she said. ``I just don't know what's going to happen next.''
The woman said she could point to two other houses nearby where residents had been the victim of violent deaths.
``I stay in my house as much as I can and peep out the door,'' she said. ``Then I sneak out and work in my yard. I have my hoe to protect me. I always have something in my hand when I'm in the yard.''
Nearly all the serial killer's victims were last seen in Norfolk's Ocean View, downtown or the Truxtun section of Portsmouth. Many frequented late-night hangouts, and several had stayed at Norfolk's Union Mission. There is no record that Smith had ever stayed at the mission, a spokesman said.
Some of the serial killer's victims were gay or had ties to the gay community. One was married. Another was living with a woman. They also kept late hours and had unpredictable schedules. Those lifestyles are what linked the cases in the first place.
In mid-1993, investigators from several jurisdictions began comparing cases and determined that the deaths of seven men were probably linked to a common killer. By the end of 1994, police formed the Serial Killer Task Force, which was dispatched Monday to Yadkin Road. ILLUSTRATION: RICHARD L. DUNSTON\The Virginian-Pilot
The medical examiner's office completed an autopsy Tuesday on Andrew
``Andre'' D. Smith, left, but police have asked that the results not
be made public. Smith's body was found Monday morning on the
shoulder of Yadkin Road, above, near Interstate 64 and George
Washington Highway.
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KEYWORDS: SERIAL KILLER MURDER by CNB