<modsnip>
Basically there are seven unsolved cases from 1971 to 1989 of girls aged 13-18 seemingly abducted off the streets, sexually assaulted, murdered, and disposed of in the nearby desert. If we exclude the one from 1989 the range narrows to six cases from 1971 to 1983.
I have not looked at the individual cases very closely, so not sure how similar they look.
I think it's just a question of probability. How likely is it that some of these cases are due to the same perpetrator or perpetrators?
Arguments for:
+ It seems to be a relatively high number of victims of that sort of stranger abduction killing in a city in the 300k-500k range over a decade. These cases of school girls being snatched off a street, raped, and killed, if that's what these are, are very rare and get a lot of attention when they do happen.
Arguments against:
- The argument for is so obvious that maybe we should assume LE has reason to believe the various cases are not connected.
- It's not THAT many, active serial killers can easily generate one victim every few months. This is much less than one a year depending on how you parse it.
Other considerations:
+/- Are there any missing girls from the area as opposed to just found deceased that could be added to the tally?
+/- If the count seems suggestive but too low for an active killer, it's possible there are victims in another jurisdiction.
<modsnip>
Here is the site I'm getting the cases from:
http://www.lvmpd.com/Sections/Homicide/CasesByYear/19701979/tabid/326/Default.aspx
****
Case #: 78-27590
Victim: Vickie Lynn Brekke
Suspect: Unknown
Location: East Lake Mead Blvd. approximately 6 miles east of Mt. Hood in the desert area.
Date: 5-8-1978
Synopsis:
On 5-7-1978 Vickie Lynn Brekke departed from her home at 3612 Braddock Street, North Las Vegas, NV to walk to a friend's house. She had called her friend and was to arrive around 5:30 pm. however she never arrived. On 5-8-78 her body was discovered in the desert area to the east of Sunrise Mountain. The autopsy revealed that Vickie had died as a result of strangulation. Vickie was a 15 yr. old WFJ.
****
Case #: 75-23324
Victim: Gerri Ann Ralston, 15 YOA
Suspect: Unknown
Location: Henderson Ponds, Pabco Rd. and Hollywood St, Clark County, NV
Date: May 22, 1975
Synopsis:
On May 21, 1975, Gerri was reported as a missing person to the Henderson (NV) Police department by her father. She was last seen in route to buy cigarettes at the Maverick Service Station on Boulder Highway. On May 22, 1975, Gerri’s body was found in the pond. She was still wearing the same clothing from the day she disappeared. The subsequent investigation determined that Gerri had been sexually assaulted and strangled. It appears her body had been disposed of at the recovery site in a effort to conceal it, the actual murder site was never located.
****
Case #:71-11701
Victim: Susan Rae Perron
Suspect: Unknown
Location: Desert area approximately 5 miles west of U.S. U.S. Highway 95 off of Lone Mountain Road
Date: Victim discovered on April 16, 1973
Synopsis:
On June 13, 1971 Susan Rae Perron (WFJ 14 yrs.) left her home to walk to Lorenzi Park to go swimming. It was not determined if she ever arrived at her destination. On April 16, 1973 the remains of a human skeleton was found in the desert area approximately 5 miles west of U.S. 95 Highway off of Lone Mountain Road. Through dental records it was determined that the skeletal remains were those of Susan Rae Perron. Cause of death was determined to be blunt trauma to the head.
****
Case #: 71-12531
Victim: Jody Marie Miller
Suspect: Uknown
Location: 150' northwest of the corner of Jones and Lone Mountain Blvd. in shallow grave in desert area.
Date: Body discovered on 11-2-1971
Synopsis:
Jody Marie Miller crawled through the bedroom window of her house on 6-21-71. She was reported as a missing juvenile and last seen by a female friend on 6-23-71. On 11-2-71 her remains were discovered wrapped in a blanket, lying in a shallow grave in the desert area approximately 150' nw of Jones and Lone Mountain. Jody was 13 yrs. old at the time of her disappearance.
****
Case #: 89-72494
Victim: Stephanie Anne Issacson, 14 YOA
Suspect: Unknown
Location: Desert Area Northwest of Stewart/Linn
Date: 6/1/1989
Synopsis:
Stephanie Issacson, a 14 year old Eldorado High School student, left for school at approximately 6:30 a.m., on foot. When Stephanie didn't return home after school her father became concerned. Her father contacted the high school and learned that Stephanie had never arrived. Her father then contacted her friends, they had not seen Stephanie all day. The Police Department was contacted and a missing person report was filed.
An organized search, of the route she normally walked, uncovered her body in a desert lot near Stewart and Linn. Stephanie had been sexually assaulted and strangled.
****
Case #: 83-26198
Victim: Catherine Tighe
Suspect: Unknown
Location: Desert area north of Indios and east of Mountain Vista, Las Vegas, NV
Date: Between 02-07-1983 and 03-02-1983
Synopsis:
The 17 yr. old victim was last seen at Chaparral High School on 2-7-83. On 3-2-83 the victim was discovered in the desert area near Indios and Twain, covered by debris. The parents of the victim had filed a missing persons report when Catherine failed to return home from school on the 7th. The coroner's office listed the cause of death as manual strangulation. No suspect has ever been identified.
****
And this last one is an outlier, she was a college student back home for the holidays rather than a school girl.
Case #: 83-91138
Victim: Diana Rae Hanson
Suspect: Unknown
Location: Desert area Spring Mountain and Buffalo
Date: Between 12-30-1983 and 12-31-1983
Synopsis:
Diana R. Hanson, home for Christmas vacation from College, left her parent's home, 6400 block of Desert Inn, around 4:30 p.m., December 30, 1983 to participate in her daily jog. Diana never came home. Her parents reported her missing at approximately 6:00 p.m. On December 31, 1983, at approximately 10:00 a.m., a construction worker reported a dead body in the desert area near Spring Mountain and Buffalo.
Diana was identified by her parents. An extensive investigation was undertaken. It appears that the suspect abducted Diana somewhere along her route and drove her to the area where she was discovered. Diana was sexually assaulted and murdered. There were signs of a struggle in the immediate area and Diana's clothing was located near by. In spite of the extensive investigation no viable suspects have been identified.
***
During this five year period (1979-1983) the population of Las Vegas grew from 413,000 to 525,000. Seems to me five girls aged 13-15 and one aged 18 being abducted and killed in that period is unusually high. Also the girls tend to resemble one another, judging from the pictures. All white, almost all brunettes. (I'm not including the outlier case I mention in these observations.)
As I mentioned in Jody Miller's thread, I have been investigating these murders for a while. I have been to three different libraries digging up as much information as I can, and have newspaper articles, cross-reference directory listings, and maps from the 70's-80's at my disposal, much of which I saved and uploaded to Gdrive. I'm planning on going to UNLV's library eventually to see what they might have. So far I have found newspaper articles on all of these girls (except one, I think), including a couple obits. The article on the discovery of Vickie's body has the detective's name listed who was working on the case at the time. Some articles had their home addresses which made it much easier to figure out the routes they might have walked when on the way to their destinations (since they were all abducted on foot while walking someplace).
