Police Seeking To Link Rapist, Snelling Slayer
By Miles Shuper
Two
A number of similarities in physical description and actions of the
Although it has never been proved, investigators have been working on the premise that the ransacker is the same person who killed the
Lt. Roy Springmeyer said today, "Because of the degree of the similarity in the physical descriptions and the methods used, we just can't afford to overlook the possibility that the same person could be responsible for the rapes and the
Detectives Bill McGowen and Duane Shipley left
The increasing violent behavior of the
In the
When psychologist compiled a profile of the man responsible for the
Officers also are convinced that the man who shot Snelling is the man who shot a detective McGowen during a Dec. 10 stakeout of a neighborhood in which a prowler, believed to be the ransacker, had been working.
McGowen was not hurt, but a bullet pierced the veteran officer's flashlight.
It was between the time of the Snelling murder and the shot fired at the officer that the string of
In
In most of the earlier attacks, however, the victim was alone in the home. The rapist typically wears a mask, ties up people and ransacks the house.
The
In
They are being closely studied and compared to the information gathered by
There also are similarities of the composite pictures of the Snelling-ransacker suspect and the
The
The subject in the Sacramento cases is described as between 19 and 30 years of age with blue or hazel eyes, five-foot eight to 10 inches in height, with a "good build" and dirty blond or medium brown hair.
The
In
Reese said the rapist, who typically carries a gun or and a knife but has never disfigured or wounded any victim, probably had a "domineering" mother and an "absent" father or a weak father. Reese based his comments of reports of psychologists and psychiatrist who have studied all known facts about the rapist.
Link To Rapist Still Sought
By Miles Shuper
Sgt. John Vaughan said "right now we are still looking at evidence to determine if, indeed, there is a link between the
Two officers went to
A number of similarities in physical description and actions of the man being sought for raping 23
Sgt. Vaughan, Lt. Roy Springmeyer and investigators Bill McGowen and Duane Shipley conferred all morning about the cases. McGowen, who was shot at in December, 1975 by a man believed to be the ransacker, and Shipley returned from
Sgt. vaughan said he could not tell how long it would be before a determination can be made if the
Since October 1975, at least 23 women have been attacked by a young white male known as "the east area rapist" because he strikes repeatedly in the same middle and upper-middle-income neighborhoods east of the state Capitol.
"There are people who have reported they are sleeping in shifts and that sort of thing," says Bill Miller, press spokesman for the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department.
"Tuesday night we had 2,500 more calls through the switchboard than we normally have. Over 2,000 were calling with information they thought would help catch the rapist. And there were more calls about prowlers and suspicious persons," Miller said.
The increasing violent behavior of the
While sheriff's deputies say there may have been some "copycat" rapes, they think they can tie the 23 rapes to one man between 19 and 30 with dark blond or brown hair.
The rapist hasn't killed or wounded anyone, authorities say, but he wields a knife and gun and promised his 23rd victim Tuesday he would kill two people if he saw stories about the attack.
In his earlier attacks, the rapist only broke into homes where there was no man. But he is growing bolder. Now he also strikes in homes where husbands lie asleep next to their wives and wakes up to find the rapist pointing a gun at them.
He usually wears gloves and some sort of hood or mask with small slits for his eyes and mouth. Typically, he rummages around a house and robs before he leaves his victims behind - tied up.
It is a style that strikes terror in the hearts of the residents in the area, lined with modern spacious homes.
The sheriff's department won't say how many people it has working on the case.
"We're doing the maximum," says Miller. But he admits the department is no closer to knowing who the rapist is than it was months ago.
"This area is densely populated. It's impossible to cover an area like that without putting a man on every block. We'd have to call out the National Guard," Miller said.
The department also revealed earlier this week it had consulted psychologists who say the rapist probably has small sexual genitals, a domineering mother and a weak or absent father.