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Possibility of serial killer adds to paranoia on street
By John C. Ensslin and Kevin Flynn
News Staff Writers
The homeless man standing before Jay Earl in front of the Denver Rescue Mission this week was in a hurry to get his meal coupon.
``I gotta get back to where I'm staying,'' Earl recalled the man saying. ``I'm afraid somebody's following me.''
Five unsolved slayings of homeless men in downtown Denver in less than two months have caused speculation that a serial killer may be at work.
It's also spread fear among the homeless, some of whom are alcoholics or drug users, said Earl, who works at the Rescue Mission.
``There's some paranoia going on, heightened by the chemicals,'' Earl said.
Denver homicide investigators say they have not found any evidence linking all five deaths. But they are not discounting the possibility that a pattern is emerging.
``There's really nothing - other than the double homicide - that links any of them,'' said Sgt. Jon Priest. ``So we have a series of deaths or a big coincidence, I don't know.''
Priest, a veteran homicide investigator, is coordinating the work of four detectives who have been assigned to find the killer or killers. A fifth detective is reviewing all of the cases, looking for common patterns.
Priest said detectives are also working with patrol officers in the area around Coors Field where the bodies were found, but declined to provide details.
The latest homicide prompted Mayor Wellington Webb to ask the police department to make the case a priority.
Asked Wednesday whether he thinks the slayings are the work of a serial killer or just a coincidence, Webb said, ``It is certainly suspicious to have that many homeless men dying under these circumstances.
``I have grave concerns about it. I've asked (Police Chief) Tom (Sanchez) to put all his efforts into finding who is involved. We have to catch someone.''
John Parvensky, president of the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, said five killings and four assaults in less than two months is the most violence he has seen in 14 years of working with the homeless.
``It seems like it's much more than a coincidence,'' Parvensky said.
Councilwoman Debbie Ortega, whose district includes some of the locations where the bodies were found, said she wants to help increase communications between police and those who work with the homeless.
``We have a potential serial killer out there targeting a very vulnerable population,'' Ortega said.
``By and large, the police deal with these people only when taking them to detox,'' Ortega said. ``This is part of the community that deserves attention, not just when they're the target of something like this. It's very scary.''
There were an estimated 5,800 homeless people in Denver at the time of the last survey in June 1998, Parvensky said.
A 1995 survey found that many of the homeless are victims of crimes that go unreported, said Franklyn James, a professor of public policy at the University of Colorado at Denver.
Of the 700 people surveyed, 9 percent reported having been victims of crime within the previous 30 days. Only half said they had reported those crimes.
``Seeking help from the police is not their first instinct,'' James said.
Nevertheless, solving the slayings is an important priority for the police department, said Manager of Safety Butch Montoya.
``Nobody wants to solve these crimes more than the Denver Police,'' Montoya said. ``They're focused on trying to put together the best investigation they can.
``There's a lot of awareness out there about the killings,'' he added. ``These individuals deserve as much attention and protection as any other citizens.''
The victims were Kenneth Rapp, whose body was found last week; George Worth and Donald Dyer, found Sept. 7; Melvin Washington, found Sept. 8; and Milo Harris, found Sept. 26.
October 28, 1999
