GUILTY WA - Victor Vasquez, 68, & Hank Eisses, 49, murdered, Bellingham, 26 Aug 2005

[mysteriew]

A man, claiming to be an FBI agent, is suspected of shooting and killing two registered sex offenders between Friday night and early Saturday morning at their home in Bellingham.

The double murder was reported to Bellingham police around 3:10 a.m. Saturday by the two men's roommate, officers said. He had last seen his roommates around 9 p.m. Friday and found their bodies upon returning home to the 2800 block of Northwest Avenue, police said.

Investigators said they suspect a man seen by the roommate and neighbors at the home may have had something to do with the slayings or have information about the incident.

The suspect spent about two hours at the home after he told the occupants he was a member of the FBI, officers said. The suspect also discussed the three occupants' status as Level 3 registered sex offenders and reportedly told one of the men that he was on an Internet Web site "hit list."
http://www.skagitvalleyherald.com/articles/2005/08/28/news/news03.txt

 

[oceanblueeyes]

A man, claiming to be an FBI agent, is suspected of shooting and killing two registered sex offenders between Friday night and early Saturday morning at their home in Bellingham.

The double murder was reported to Bellingham police around 3:10 a.m. Saturday by the two men's roommate, officers said. He had last seen his roommates around 9 p.m. Friday and found their bodies upon returning home to the 2800 block of Northwest Avenue, police said.

Investigators said they suspect a man seen by the roommate and neighbors at the home may have had something to do with the slayings or have information about the incident.

The suspect spent about two hours at the home after he told the occupants he was a member of the FBI, officers said. The suspect also discussed the three occupants' status as Level 3 registered sex offenders and reportedly told one of the men that he was on an Internet Web site "hit list."
http://www.skagitvalleyherald.com/articles/2005/08/28/news/news03.txt

Internet Hit List???????? I have never heard of an internet hit list before have you??

Maybe this guy is the owner of the site?

Ocean

 

[mysteriew]

This sounds like the initial story. I have a feeling there will a lot more to come. The FBI/internet hit list is obviously made up. It will be interesting to see who made the story up- that is probably who the killer is.

 

[mysteriew]

He is described as a white male in his late 40s, about 5 feet 9 inches to 6 feet tall and weighing 190 pounds.

He was last seen Friday night at the residence by neighbors and a roommate of the two men.

The roommate left the house Friday night and returned early Saturday to find the men dead.

The suspect reportedly arrived at the house Friday night wearing a black baseball cap with an F-B-I insignia on the front and a blue jump suit with a white stripe down the legs. Police say the suspect is not a federal agent.
http://www.kirotv.com/news/4906789/detail.html

 

[mysteriew]

The suspect is not an FBI agent, Ambrose said.

The man presented himself to the three roommates as a member of the FBI and said he wanted to talk to them about their Level III sex offender status, according to police.

The fake FBI agent told the roommates that one of them was on a “hit list” on an Internet site, according to the police. The roommate who reported the deaths left while the FBI imposter was still there, Ambrose said.

Ambrose would not confirm which roommates, if any, are registered sex offenders. But Sheryl Craig, a block watch captain, said neighbors previously received sex offender notices about all three residents from law enforcement.
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050828/NEWS/50827007

 

[mysteriew]

Looks like I was wrong. I was thinking the roommate told the story about the FBI agent/Internet hit site. But it looks like the neighbors apparently saw this suspect also. There is a sketch of the suspect at the above article.

 

[mysteriew]

The roommate who reported the deaths left about 9 p.m. while the FBI imposter was still there, police Lt. Craige Ambrose said previously. He found the bodies when he returned about 3 a.m. Saturday, police said.

Neighbors said the suspect stayed at the house for approximately two hours, according to police.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002455837_websexoffendersslayings29.html

 

[mysteriew]

Police in Bellingham, Wash., are investigating whether a man posing as an FBI agent killed two sex offenders living in a halfway house.

Police identified the two men who were shot and killed early Saturday morning as Hank Eisses, 49, and Victor Vasquez, 68. Both men were convicted child rapists.

Eisses and Vasquez lived in what neighbors said was a halfway house for Level 3 sex offenders that community residents had fought against when it was proposed more than three years ago.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/LegalCenter/story?id=1077310&page=1

 

[LinasK]

Ummm, I know we're not supposed to believe in vigilante justice:silenced: , but can I just say it couldn't have happened to two nicer 's??? The world is now rid of two more child rapists, this imposter did us a favor!:clap:

 

[blueclouds]

Child Sex offenders?? ahhhhhhhh I'll say a prayer for them that they'll forever spend ETERNITY IN HELL..... is that good enough?

I wish there were more imposters. :clap:

 

[mysteriew]

Ummm, I know we're not supposed to believe in vigilante justice:silenced: , but can I just say it couldn't have happened to two nicer 's??? The world is now rid of two more child rapists, this imposter did us a favor!:clap:

LOL, I wasn't going to be the one to say it..................but I wondered if they should be looking so hard for this guy.

 

[Sheromom]

Up here in Washington, if we can't run them off we..................:crazy: :crazy: :crazy:

Cheers!

 

[emma l]

You guys are scary........................!

 

[Observer]

I just keep thinking it's a shame the third sex offender in the house got away. Something else that bothers me is that if this man gets caught he will probably do more time than the child rapists that he killed.

 

[mysteriew]

Last Friday night, a man claiming to be an FBI agent dropped in on three Level 3 sex offenders living together, supposedly to warn them of an Internet "hit list" targeting sex offenders.

The man was not an FBI agent, but he might have been enforcing a hit list of his own creation.

The killings also highlight a potential problem about Washington’s 1990 law requiring sex offenders to register their addresses so the public can keep track of them.

Bellingham Police Chief Randall Carroll said it is too early to conclude that Hank Eisses, 49, and Victor Vasquez, 68, were killed because they were sex offenders.

But Carroll noted that their address - and descriptions of their crimes - were posted on the city’s Web site, and if someone used that information to target Eisses and Vasquez, it could have a broad impact.

"Certainly if sex offenders were targeted and attacked because of their offense, the Legislature could decide they could repeal our sex-offender notification law," Carroll said.

Eisses owned the house where the killings took place and had rented rooms for the past three years to Vasquez and James Russell, 42.
http://www.columbiatribune.com/2005/Sep/20050901News023.asp

 

[mysteriew]

There's a bizarre twist in the double murder of sex offenders in Bellingham.

Someone wrote a letter taking credit for the killings and threatening to strike again. But whoever wrote the letter did not sign their name.

Police would not comment on camera to KOMO 4 News, but they did tell us there are always people who confess to murders that grab the headlines. Sometimes people who had nothing to do with the crime just want attention, or they believe in their own mind that they did something.

In that letter, the writer says he killed Hank Eisses and Victor Vasquez in their home last Friday night. The letter also threatens other Level 3 sex offenders.

It is common practice for police to withhold information about a crime. Apparently nothing in the letter mentions any information that only the police and killer would know.

Police tell us they can't ignore the confession, and to be safe they called sex offenders telling them don't let people into their homes and always ask for identification.

Although police say the confession letter may not be real, sex offenders are much more concerned.

We spent about one hour at one home where three Level three sex offenders live, but no one would go on camera.

The homeowner, himself a sex offender, said he's concerned. He was so worried after he got the warning call from police that he went out and bought two, new metal doors. And, while we were talking to him, a Department of Corrections officer called suggesting they not talk to us, should not be photographed, or in any way be identified.
http://www.komotv.com/stories/38908.htm

 

[emma l]

Yeah I was just gonna post a similar story. Someones decided they're gonna play vigilante eh?! This is dangerous territory because I think the system you guys have over there where a list of sex offenders is available to the public is great. Its so worrying and puzzling that we don't have that here in the UK. I would hate for this guy to jeopardise that system for you.

I'll probably regret asking this, but what is a "Level 3" Offender?

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002466105_sexoffender02m.html
Writer claims responsibility for Bellingham slayings, warns other offenders

The investigation into the slaying of two Level 3 sex offenders in Bellingham has taken a twist with an anonymous letter claiming responsibility for the killings — and threatening the county's other high-risk offenders.

The letter, mailed to The Bellingham Herald on Wednesday, may be a hoax, said Bellingham police Lt. Craige Ambrose. But police, working with the state Department of Corrections (DOC), warned the sex offenders named in the letter, which was not released to the public.

The details in the letter about the crime have been publicly available and, therefore, anyone could have written the letter, Ambrose said.

"When we're not sure if it's the real thing or a hoax, we decided to take some extra precaution," he said.

Kit Bail, supervisor of the DOC's field offices in Whatcom County, said the letter was alarming. "The threat was pretty clear: These are 25 people that should not be on the street. It named names," she said.

"We're taking it very seriously. How could you not? We have two sex offenders murdered."

Washington's 15-year-old sex-offender registration law requires police to warn the public of high-risk sex offenders being released from prison. According to the State Patrol, Whatcom County is home to 38 Level 3 offenders, deemed the most likely to reoffend.

Saturday, a man wearing a blue jumpsuit and a baseball cap with an FBI logo visited three Level 3 offenders living together, allegedly to warn them of a "hit list" targeting sex offenders, police say. One roommate left for work, and when he returned, he found his roommates — Hank Eisses, 49, and Victor Vasquez, 68 — dead, the roommate told police.

Police say one possible motive was vigilante justice, though that is not the only motive being considered. The killing nonetheless unnerved Chad Pyles, a 24-year-old convicted of rape, who lives three blocks from the homicide.

"If they went after a couple of senior citizens, why not me?" said Pyles, a Level 3 offender.


Ofelia Ayala, mother of another Whatcom County Level 3 sex offender, said her son called her last night after learning of the letter. He was scared and asked for money to buy a cellphone to use in case of an emergency, she said.

"He's concerned about it, because he's gotten beat up a few times" for being a Level 3 offender, Ayala said.

Ambrose, the police lieutenant, urged people not to overreact to the letter. If the slain men's killer wrote it, he said, detectives think it likely would have had details not publicly available.

On the other hand, he said, "if it's really the shooter, that's like having a conversation with us."

 

[mysteriew]

I'll probably regret asking this, but what is a "Level 3" Offender?

They look at the sex offenders and their crimes, the amount of violence in the attack, they interview, and do an assesment of the potiental for the offender to reoffend. (I am not real clear as to what criteria they use). Anyway, they have assigned 3 classes to sex offenders. Level 1 is considered least likely to reoffend. Level 2 is mod risk, and Level 3 is the highest and is often referred to as a sexual predator. They are considered most likely to reoffend.

 

[Jeana (DP)]

That's a good start in the right direction.

 

[mysteriew]

That's a good start in the right direction.

Hey, I agree. I am not saying they should give the guy a medal...........but do they really have to look for him so hard?

Still I worry that the killings will endanger the strides made in public notification to communties. This cannot be allowed to jepardize that. Many people put themselves at risk. Druggies put themselves at risk of violence, risk of disease- by their risky behavior.
Sex offenders just have to understand that when they assault a child- they are doing the same. The public, the state, the justice system is not putting them at risk- their own behaviors put them at risk. And just like any other criminal who risks their lives by their criminal behavior- sex offenders are putting their own lives on the line when they assault a child.
We cannot go backward!