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September 21
May 2
March 24
March 23
Homeless feel betrayed by verdict
March 19
March 17
March 16
March 14
December 10
November 28
Jeffrey John Hubert: Time slips away on streets
Beat on street among Denver's homeless is one of fear, defiance
Richard Steinmetz: Wary life among the 'clowns'
John Bryant & Katherine Livingston: Manhole cover for a bed
Keith Williams: Scars of street life
November 26
November 25
November 23
Murder suspect, 16, put in adult jail
LoDo not paralyzed by murders
November 22
Homeless shelters fill fast
November 21
LoDo rebirth disrupts street life rhythms
November 20
November 19
FBI profilers may help solve murders
Death takes many forms for homeless
'We have nothing to be afraid of'
November 18
New killings spread fear in homeless
November 15
November 12
November 10
November 7
November 5
October 31
Men felt lure of streets
October 30
October 29
October 28
Police ponder connections in four downtown slayings
October 27
October 24
October 9
October 7
September 30
September 18
September 9
Serial killer, copycat on the prowl?
By Katie Kerwin McCrimmonDenver Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer
A serial killer and one or more copycat killers may be at work in the slayings of seven homeless men in Denver, a criminal justice expert said Thursday. Homeless men could be the perfect victims for a demented serial killer because he thinks no one will care about the dead, said Metropolitan State College criminal justice professor Waldo Copley. "It's a safe victim. It's not nearly as risky as it would be to kill people at 7-Elevens," he said. If young homeless "mall rats" are involved, they may be killing for the thrill of it, while a serial killer may think he'll never get caught, Copley said. "If nobody cares about them, then the killer has clear sailing. 'I can kill with impunity,"' Copley said. Copley stressed that he knows only what the public does about the confounding crimes. And discovering why killers kill is a perplexing task. He said the beheadings of at least three of the victims could show rage. "It's conceivable the person who beheads the victims is trying to separate the victim from themselves, to separate them from life," Copley said. John Macdonald, a forensic psychiatry professor emeritus at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, said the beheadings show an obvious character trait. "It would have to be someone very sadistic to cut off the heads," he said. Elsewhere around the country, homeless people have been the victims of the Freight Train Riders of America, a racist gang that sometimes targets victims near railroad tracks. Police nationwide have attributed as many as 300 violent murders to the gang. According to the Placer County Sheriff's Department in Salem, Ore., the gang was founded in 1984 in Montana by a small group of Vietnam vets who rode the trains throughout the West. The sheriff's report found that the group later formed a "goon squad" that kept members in line and assaulted other members who didn't belong to the group. Bernard Segall, who teaches criminal justice part-time at Metropolitan State College, suspects the Denver perpetrators are seeking power. "Homeless people are helpless victims," Segall said. "It could be individuals who want to enhance their own power by picking on the homeless. "The viciousness of this is unheard of," he said. "The beheading really shocks me." Copley predicts that police will solve the crimes, but it may take time. The FBI's assistance will prove critical, Copley said. "The Denver police are doing yeoman's work in terms of the investigation of the physical crime scene and all the normal avenues," he said. But the latest two victims show that this is an "off-the-wall crime." FBI profilers can help come up with the psychological portrait of such a killer or killers. They'll start with commonalities between the crimes and investigate from there. "We start with the fact that they're all dead and they're all homeless," Copley said. "Maybe they all had some contact with the killer. "It's a long, tedious, frustrating process. You can get as many blind alleys as open roads," he said. "But my experience tells me they will eventually solve this." The Associated Press contributed to this report. November 19, 1999
A serial killer and one or more copycat killers may be at work in the slayings of seven homeless men in Denver, a criminal justice expert said Thursday.
Homeless men could be the perfect victims for a demented serial killer because he thinks no one will care about the dead, said Metropolitan State College criminal justice professor Waldo Copley.
"It's a safe victim. It's not nearly as risky as it would be to kill people at 7-Elevens," he said.
If young homeless "mall rats" are involved, they may be killing for the thrill of it, while a serial killer may think he'll never get caught, Copley said.
"If nobody cares about them, then the killer has clear sailing. 'I can kill with impunity,"' Copley said.
Copley stressed that he knows only what the public does about the confounding crimes. And discovering why killers kill is a perplexing task.
He said the beheadings of at least three of the victims could show rage.
"It's conceivable the person who beheads the victims is trying to separate the victim from themselves, to separate them from life," Copley said.
John Macdonald, a forensic psychiatry professor emeritus at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, said the beheadings show an obvious character trait.
"It would have to be someone very sadistic to cut off the heads," he said.
Elsewhere around the country, homeless people have been the victims of the Freight Train Riders of America, a racist gang that sometimes targets victims near railroad tracks.
Police nationwide have attributed as many as 300 violent murders to the gang. According to the Placer County Sheriff's Department in Salem, Ore., the gang was founded in 1984 in Montana by a small group of Vietnam vets who rode the trains throughout the West.
The sheriff's report found that the group later formed a "goon squad" that kept members in line and assaulted other members who didn't belong to the group.
Bernard Segall, who teaches criminal justice part-time at Metropolitan State College, suspects the Denver perpetrators are seeking power.
"Homeless people are helpless victims," Segall said. "It could be individuals who want to enhance their own power by picking on the homeless.
"The viciousness of this is unheard of," he said. "The beheading really shocks me."
Copley predicts that police will solve the crimes, but it may take time.
The FBI's assistance will prove critical, Copley said.
"The Denver police are doing yeoman's work in terms of the investigation of the physical crime scene and all the normal avenues," he said.
But the latest two victims show that this is an "off-the-wall crime."
FBI profilers can help come up with the psychological portrait of such a killer or killers.
They'll start with commonalities between the crimes and investigate from there.
"We start with the fact that they're all dead and they're all homeless," Copley said. "Maybe they all had some contact with the killer.
"It's a long, tedious, frustrating process. You can get as many blind alleys as open roads," he said. "But my experience tells me they will eventually solve this."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
November 19, 1999
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