Are 4 Recent Grisly Homeless Murders From Serial Killer in Seattle?
The Seattle Police Department is working to determine if four recent murders of homeless people are from the same person.
25-year-old man arrested in one case
MyNorthwest.com is reporting Seattle PD is looking for more similarities in a recent string of murders involving homeless persons, apparently all who were sleeping on sidewalks or other public areas.
Police have arrested a 25-year-old suspect in connection with the killing of Daravuth Van, 52, who was sleeping outside The Town Hall in Seattle's First Neighborhood on February 22nd. The victim was found with a gaping wound to his head and significant blood pooled around him. Using video surveillance, Officers were able to see the man walk past the victim several times, and then swing a weapon towards toward him.
When Police later spotted the suspect last Saturday morning, the man dropped an ax as he ran away. He was later tracked to his home and arrested. Police did not directly say the ax was the weapon, but three other homicides bear a striking resemblance.
February 10th a 68-year-old man was found dead with head trauma in a pool of blood about a mile from the Town Hall crime scene area. February 18th, another victim was found a half-mile from the Town Hall area, the 37-year-old male victim had similar trauma, and Police say he was likely there for a week before being discovered. He too was in a pool of blood.
And finally, three days after the 52-year-old man was killed, another victim suffered critical injuries when he was stabbed at Cal Anderson Park, about a mile from the other crime areas.
Police were able to trace the ax the suspect dropped to a Lowe's Store at 2700 Rainier Ave. South, purchased the day before one of the victims was found dead.
A media reporter at a Seattle PD press conference Monday suggested the idea of a serial killer, to which Seattle PD Chief Adrian Diaz responded:
“That’s a good question that still is yet for us to develop, just like all other investigations, we look for previous cases to see if there’s any links.”
The investigations continue.
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