FBI needs help identifying victims of serial killer Samuel Little

The FBI wants help identifying the women in a confessed serial killer's hand drawn portraits of his victims

CNN
By Madeline Holcombe
February 13, 2019

(CNN)The FBI is hoping portraits of women drawn by the man who says he killed them will help them to identify the victims and notify their families.

The agency released 16 images on Tuesday, drawn from memory by Samuel Little, who told authorities they are just some of the more than 90 people he killed over three decades.

"We are hoping that someone -- family member, former neighbor, friend -- might recognize the victim and provide that crucial clue in helping authorities make an identification," said FBI spokesperson Shayne Buchwald. "We want to give these women their names back and their family some long awaited answers. It's the least we can do."

The strategy has worked before, Buchwald said. Women who appeared in two previously released portraits were identified, he said.
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Man linked to 8 murders found dead in Anchorage jail

Alaska Barista Murder Suspect Found Dead, Linked to 7 Other Killings
ABC News
By ANTHONY CASTELLANO, CHRISTINA NG and KEVIN DOLAK
Dec. 3, 2012

A man charged in the death of an Alaska barista was found dead in his Anchorage jail cell after an apparent suicide, according to police, who also linked him to a series of U.S. homicides.

Israel Keyes, 34, had been facing a March trial in Anchorage federal court for the killing of 18-year-old Samantha Koenig, who was abducted from a coffee kiosk in the city in February.

Authorities wouldn't say how Keyes killed himself, only that he was alone in his cell. An autopsy will be conducted.

After announcing Keyes' apparent suicide at a Sunday news conference, local authorities and the FBI said they believed Keyes was a serial killer linked to at least seven other possible killings in three other states.

Keyes owned a construction company in Anchorage. According to the website for Keyes Construction at the time of his arrest, Keyes worked in Washington State in the mid-1990s and then served three years in the Army infantry, stationed in Fort Lewis, Fort Hood, and Sinai, Egypt. According to the site, he then worked from 2001 to 2007 for the Makah Tribal Council in Neah Bay, Wash., before moving to Alaska.
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Navy town on high alert as FBI joins search for serial killer

Navy town on high alert as FBI joins search for serial killer
By Michelle Esteban Published: Feb 25, 2012

BREMERTON, Wash. - The FBI is helping Bremerton police try to find a suspected serial killer there, the KOMO 4 Problem Solvers have learned.

The city, home to a Navy base and shipyard, is on high alert after two women were murdered - police say - at the hands of one man.

In a state that has been home to a number of serial killers, residents are understandably on edge.

• Ted Bundy confessed to 30 murders - and investigators believe the number is much higher.

• Gary Ridgway, dubbed the Green River Killer, murdered as many as 71 women.

• Sniper John Allen Muhammed targeted victims from a hidden compartment in his car, claiming 21 victims.

• And Spokane's Robert Yates pleaded guilty to murdering 15 women.

All of them began their killing sprees in our state.

Now comes word that a serial killer targeting and terrorizing the residents of Bremerton has been on the prowl since May 2011.
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Forth victim of serial killer was a homeless Vietnam Veteran

Police ‘extremely confident’ man in custody is responsible for 4 California homeless killings

By Associated Press, Published: January 14

Also Saturday, mourners wept at the scene of death of the latest victim, who was described by friends as a Vietnam War veteran in his 60s named John. They left flowers and signs, one of which read “We love you, John.”

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Investigators are “extremely confident” a man in custody is responsible for all four recent killings of homeless men in Orange County, Anaheim Police Chief John Welter said Saturday, easing a month of worry and fear among the homeless and their advocates.

Investigators have tied the killings to Itzcoatl Ocampo, 23, of Yorba Linda, who was detained Friday night after a fourth homeless man was stabbed to death in the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant, Welter said.

Witnesses and bystanders at the crime scene chased Ocampo on foot, and he was captured by a police officer who was part of a perimeter set up in response to dozens of 911 calls and other reports.

Three other homeless men have been found stabbed to death in north Orange County since mid-December, and a task force had been looking for the single suspect they believed was responsible for all three.
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Accused killer is Iraq Veteran

Ex-Marine a suspect in killing of homeless men in Southern California

By NICOLE SANTA CRUZ AND ALAN ZAREMBO
Los Angeles Times
Published: Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012

SANTA ANA, Calif -- SANTA ANA, Calif. - A 23-year-old former marine who some say was distraught following combat service in Iraq has been named a suspect in the serial killings of four homeless men in Orange County.

Itzcoatl Ocampo, of Yorba Linda, was chased bystanders Friday following the most recent stabbing death in the parking lot of an Anaheim fast food restaurant. On Saturday, Ocampo remained in police custody without bail and is expected in court on Tuesday.

"We are extremely confident that we have the man who is responsible for the murders of all four homeless men in Orange County," Anaheim Police Chief John Welter said at a news conference Saturday. Police said they will seek four counts of murder next week.

Authorities did not specify a motive for the killings, which began on Dec. 20 and sent fear through the homeless community. However, a relative and a friend of the suspect described a young man who appeared to be deeply troubled following his return from service in Iraq in the summer of 2010.

"When he came back from Iraq he was sick," said his uncle, Ifrain Gonzalez.

For the last year, he had been telling relatives that he was seeing and hearing things, Gonzalez said.

The last time Gonzalez saw his nephew was at a Dec. 24 Christmas Eve party. Ocampo, he said, had told a cousin: "I did something terrible, but don't worry."

It was four days after the killings had begun.
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Defense tries to blame PTSD on what the Ohio serial killer did

A serial killer is not "normal" no matter what they use to excuse what they do. No one in their right mind would be able to do such horrible things and then wake up the next morning as if it was just part of an average day unless there was truly something wrong with their mind but while Sowell very well may have PTSD, it is very unlikely that's all that's wrong with him.

Serial killers show signs growing up. They don't just "snap" or decide, "hey, I need something to do today so I'll go out and butcher someone" to break up the day. How about this guy is evil? How about he has no soul? He's a sex offender, killer and then topped all that off with abusing the corpse. Not convicted of killing one woman but in killing 11 of them.

For all the compassion and understanding we have for veterans with PTSD, to excuse all of this as a byproduct of PTSD, is a lawyer so desperate to save this man's life, he'll try to blame everything but the man himself for what he did. He must have not noticed there are millions of veterans with PTSD but not millions of serial killers.

Defense tries to depict Ohio serial killer as mentally ill in bid to avoid death penalty

By Associated Press, Updated: Sunday, July 31, 2:53 PM

CLEVELAND — Defense attorneys are trying to spare the life of an ex-Marine convicted of killing 11 women by painting him as someone who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental illnesses.

The sentencing phase of trial begins on Monday for Anthony Sowell, a sex offender who was found guilty July 22 of murdering the women and abusing their corpses, which were hidden in his home and buried in his backyard.

The jury, which sat through weeks of disturbing and emotional testimony, saw photographs of the victims’ blackened, skeletal corpses lying on autopsy tables and listened to police describe how their bodies had been left to rot in a home that smelled so bad neighbors complained — believing the source of the stench was rotting meat from a nearby sausage shop.

Now the defense wants to convince jurors that Sowell, who exhibited little emotion during the trial, was mentally ill and doesn’t deserve to die. If the jurors don’t decide on the death penalty, Sowell faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.
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Defense tries to depict Ohio serial killer as mentally ill

N. Carolina shooting stirs interest in S. Carolina serial killings

UPDATE
Police: 'We believe a killer is off the streets'
Police say suspect in South Carolina serial killings is dead
Story Highlights
"We believe a killer is off the streets," official says

North Carolina authorities shoot suspect after he confronts police

Weapon found on man matches gun used in South Carolina killings

Killer has slain five people in Gaffney, South Carolina, area, police say

N. Carolina shooting stirs interest in S. Carolina serial killings
Story Highlights
North Carolina police say no confirmed link between robbery, South Carolina killings

Video of North Carolina crime site shows car similar to one sought in serial killings

North Carolina authorities say "evidence" prompted call to South Carolina police

Killer has slain five people in Gaffney, South Carolina, area, police say



DALLAS, North Carolina (CNN) -- Police in Gaston County, North Carolina, shot and killed a suspect during a possible robbery early Monday, then called in police from South Carolina who have been chasing a serial killer.


Police say the murder scenes are linked and they are searching for a man resembling this sketch.

There was "evidence in regard to the man that was shot," said Capt. Joe Ramey of the Gaston County Police Department.

He did not give specifics, and he said he could not state for certain that the suspect had a link to the serial killer case.
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http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/07/06/south.carolina.killings/index.html