THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, September 10, 1996 TAG: 9609100252
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JUNE ARNEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: 104 lines
Authorities are investigating an attempted sexual assault that bears striking similarities to the tactics used in a series of killings that has claimed at least 11 lives since 1987.
About 30 callers have contacted Crime Line and a serial killer hot line since a victim reported that a man tried to force him to have sex in a van on a secluded road in Bowers Hill after offering him a ride Friday night.
Police are not saying whether they believe the suspect in the recent attack is linked to a string of unsolved killings in Hampton Roads. Authorities from several jurisdictions have determined that a single killer probably was responsible.
``There are some interesting parallels,'' Chesapeake police Sgt. R.V. Williams said.
Police say they are looking for someone who offered a ride to a man in the Berkley section of Norfolk about 8 p.m. Friday. The victim got into a van, and the driver agreed to take him to another part of Norfolk. The suspect then asked if he could make another stop first. The victim agreed, and the driver took him to a secluded dirt road in the Bowers Hill area near U.S. Route 58, where he parked the van.
When the driver made sexual advances, a fight broke out. The victim fought off his attacker and fled on foot. He tried to flag down cars, but no one stopped. The suspect was last seen driving on Route 58.
About 12 hours after the fight, the victim sought medical attention in the emergency room of Portsmouth General Hospital. The hospital notified state police, who then contacted Chesapeake police.
``This is the first time we've gotten something of this magnitude that might be related to the serial killing, short of finding a body,'' said Elizabeth Jones, a Chesapeake police spokeswoman. ``The majority of our evidence in the serial killings comes when a body is found. If this is related at all, obviously this would give us more information in that case.''
The driver was calm, polite and conversational until he tried to force his victim to have sex, Jones said. Police would not discuss details of what happened in the van. They also would not say whether the suspect tried to strangle his victim.
Nine of the 11 victims of the suspected serial killer were strangled. Two others may have been strangled, but the bodies were too badly decomposed for authorities to be sure.
Police say they have not linked the suspected serial killer with the slaying of Andrew ``Andre'' D. Smith, whose body was found July 22. His nude body was found on the shoulder of Yadkin Road near Interstate 64 and George Washington Highway. Police also have not released his cause of death. Smith was 38 and lived in Portsmouth.
The longest time between known killings by the serial killer has been three years and the shortest has been three months.
Police have released a detailed description of the man involved in the recent attempted sexual assault. ``I think what's going to solve this is people who recognize the tattoos,'' Jones said.
The suspect has a tattoo on his right forearm of a dagger with a snake around the blade. He has an eagle tattoo on the upper left side of his chest.
The suspect is white, 33 to 37 years old, 5 feet 10 inches tall, 185 pounds with a medium complexion. He has straight blond to brown hair, hazel eyes and a thick mustache.
The man speaks with a Northern accent, possibly from New York or Massachusetts, Jones said.
On Friday night, the suspect wore a red shirt with three buttons and no collar, cutoff blue jeans and white leather tennis shoes with a white V design on the side pointing toward the toe.
The suspect was driving a late 1970s or early 1980s brown Ford Econoline van. It has no windows on the side panels, only on the back and in the passenger's and driver's doors.
Nearly all the victims of the serial killer have been found in Chesapeake. Most were dumped within a few miles of where the man in Friday's incident fought off his alleged attacker.
Police have said some of the serial killer's intended victims may have gotten away. They have asked anyone who has been picked up by someone who suddenly turned violent to come forward.
Most victims were last seen in one of three areas: Norfolk's Ocean View section, downtown Norfolk or Portsmouth's Truxtun neighborhood. Many frequented late-night hangouts and several had stayed at Norfolk's Union Mission. Some victims were gay or had ties to the gay community. They also kept late hours and had unpredictable schedules.
Police are releasing no details about the victim from Friday's attack. Detectives working the serial killings say they have heard talk of a man in a van before - on the streets, from Portsmouth Boulevard to Granby Street in Norfolk. In the Truxtun area, a man in a van is said to offer money and rides to area men.
But at least one person told police a ``code of the street'' keeps people from saying more.
MEMO: Anyone with information about Friday's incident or who can
identify the man in the composite drawing is asked to call investigators
at 382-6161 or Crime Line at 487-1234. Calls also can be made to the
Serial Killer Tip Hot Line at 436-8900. Mail should be addressed to
detectives at P.O. Box 16291, Chesapeake, VA 23328. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic The Suspect
Sketch/drawing
Description
Tatoos
Vehicle
Whom to call
[For complete copy, see microfilm]
KEYWORDS: SERIAL KILLER SEX CRIME SEXUAL ASSAULT ASSAULT
MURDER
by CNB