Darren Deon Vann has been identified as the suspected killer of at least seven women found dead in northwest Indiana this weekend. Vann, a 43-year-old convicted sex offender, was charged on Monday with the murder by strangulation of 19-year-old Afrika Hardy at a Motel 6 in Hammond, Indiana, and will most likely soon face more charges as the investigation proceeds.
Hammond Chief of Police John Doughty said Vann arranged to meet a prostitute at the Motel 6 on Friday. When the madam tried and failed to reach Hardy at the hotel, she called police. At the hotel, cops discovered Hardy's body and then executed a warrant on a home thanks to the phone number provided to the madam. Police found the bodies of six other women after the arrest. Vann has been charged with murder and two other charges.