Every decade or so a bit of new information emerges about this case that gets one to thinking. New revelations concerning the last hours of the last victim, Kim Raffo, were published in an article by Mark Mueller at NJ.com.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2016/11/10_years_later_the_atlantic_city_serial_killer_rem.html
The article states:
“One day before her death, Raffo was with a customer, a North Jersey doctor, who had a room at the now-shuttered Trump Taj Mahal. At about 5 a.m. on Nov. 19, the law enforcement official said, Raffo told the man she was going out to buy drugs and would return. When she did not, the doctor called her several times, receiving no answer.
Using Raffo's cell phone records, investigators tracked down and interviewed the doctor, ultimately clearing him of suspicion because surveillance video from the hotel and casino appeared to confirm his account. The man's calls to Raffo were routed to a cell tower on the Black Horse Pike, not far from where the bodies were discovered.
'We don't know if she was alive or dead at that point,' the official said.”
A lot of info in that little disclosure. Mulling it over I came to a few preliminary conclusions.
- It was 33 hours from the time of her last sighting to the discovery of Ms. Raffo's body on Nov 20th at 3:00 pm on Monday afternoon.
- Ms. Raffo was not seeking a client at the time she left but was heading out to get high.
- The client that she had left at the Taj fully expected her to return.
- Someone transported her to the Golden Key.
- The calls from her client being routed to a cell tower on the BHP possibly indicate that her phone was either (a) en route to the Golden Key, (b) already at the Golden Key, (c) exiting the Golden Key without it's rightful owner or (d) in the possession of the killer in the vicinity of the BHP. It would be interesting to know exactly when those calls took place.
Theory Time:
For some time now I've come to believe that all four victims were being stalked prior to their death. This new information only confirms my suspicions. When Ms. Raffo left the Taj Mahal she was not seeking a john as she had one comfortably tucked away. Probably a well paying one at that.
When she hit the streets she was looking to score and get high. Someone that she met along the way, probably someone that she knew, might have offered to expedite matters. Maybe a ride to first get the drugs and later to get high in. A fellow drug user who shared a similar lifestyle, someone who could get her into a car without raising her suspicions.
This person shared a ride with her to the Golden Key Motel. Whether she was in the passenger seat or in the trunk is anyone's guess. I'm guessing it's the latter. Why?
Because he's a killer.
Just my opinion.