I beleive the Senter case was solved however if I recall, not sure about the other attempted abduction , but the Senter suspect was apprehended
I wouldnt suspect the same individual in both homicide cases, however
No, they weren't connected but LE didn't know that at the time. There had also been another abduction attempt of a young girl not long before Angie Housman's. The girl got away and her description was used for the original composite sketch. So, with all 3 of those, according to the news reports, LE was initially looking for a serial kidnapper/killer. They changed course after a while. I'm still catching up on the old news stories, but you can find them at this link:
Timeline of events in the Angie Housman case
Story with information about prior kidnapping attempt. It's about halfway down the article:
Schoolgirl abducted near St. Ann home
Mantle said Angie's disappearance might be connected to an attempted abduction in Maryland Heights on Nov. 8.
In that case, a man grabbed an 11-year-old girl - who looks similar to Angie - just after she got off her school bus about 3:50 p.m.
He pulled her into some bushes along a road, but she managed to break free.
Police were still looking for that man Friday and distributed copies of a composite sketch to police officers who set up roadblocks in St. Ann near Angie's home.
LE really pulled out all the stops on these investigations. Sounds like they tried everything they could. They even examined satellite photos of the neighborhoods to see if they could spot anything. When they finally separated the murders of Angie and Cassidy, it helped them narrow down their list of suspects for each.
I'm sure they're trying to find out who else was involved now. The step-father likely wasn't, JMO, as police were with the family constantly during the time she was alleged to have been held captive, then taken to the wildlife preserve. IIRC, she was reported missing within a couple hours of getting off the school bus. What do you think?
ETA: Before Angie was missing, she told someone at her school about an "uncle" who was going to take her on a trip. Prosecutor said today they think Earl Cox was the person she referred to as "uncle". Though he doesn't appear related to Angie's step-father, she must have somehow become acquainted with him before the kidnapping and perhaps thought he was a relative. IDK.
ETA#2:
Here's a brief timeline of when Angie went missing
Nov 18
4:00 pm - Angie last seen by another student after she got off the school bus
5:00 pm - Step-father reports he arrived home from work and noticed she wasn't at home
7:00 pm - Family flags down a police car after searching for her on their own for 2 hours
LE said today they think she had been kept somewhere at least a week or more before she was taken, still alive, to Busch Wildlife Area.
Nov 24, 25 or 26?
Angie moved to BWA (LE says evidence indicated to them that more than 1 person had to be involved in moving her there)
Nov 27
Angie's body discovered in Busch Wildlife Area