ON THE LOOSE

Detroit Police Warn of Serial Killer and Rapist Targeting Sex Workers

Police say they believe three women in their 50s were lured into vacant homes before they were murdered.

Detroit police say they believe a serial killer is targeting sex workers after three women were found killed in vacant homes. “We believe this is a serial murderer and rapist, and we want to alert all sex workers—particularly those who work inside vacant houses—to beware,” Detroit police chief James Craig told a news conference Wednesday. So far, he said, the bodies of three women have been found in vacant homes on the east side of the city. When the first victim was found in mid-March, investigators initially treated her death as a drug overdose but a medical examiner’s report later concluded she died of “blunt force trauma.” Another victim was found on May 20, and the third was found on Wednesday morning, Craig said, leading police to believe they have found all the “makings of a serial killer and rapist that's operating on the east side of Detroit.” All three sex workers were in their 50s. Craig said the case is the “department’s highest priority[.]”