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Authors: Barry Friedman
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file.
Hair and fiber analysis from the victim’s
clothing and the truck seat showed mainly an assortment of vegetable fibers.
One sentence in the report leaped out at Maharos: “Several fibers removed from
the front of the victim’s overalls were of a Navy blue wool.” Wool? On a warm
day in June? Were these the same type of fibers found in the vacuumed material
from the carpet of Horner’s car? Hamberger had not been wearing anything made
of wool. Probably the wool fibers had adhered to the murdered man’s overalls
from contact with the killer’s clothing.
Maharos was becoming more and more convinced that
the same person committed the two murders. Since most serial killers selected
their victims at random, there was probably no connection between the two
victims—if there were only two. And if they were both killed by the same
person.
The computer printouts that Maharos had picked up
from Karen Hennessy were still fan-folded. He tore the four sheets apart at
their perforations before he started to read them.
The homicides were listed in four columns. The
first column consisted of the names of the victims; the second, the
jurisdiction charged with investigation of the crime; the third, the type of
homicide; and the fourth column, the status of the case, whether closed by a
conviction, trial pending, or open, meaning unsolved.
He started with November 7th.
Victim………….Jurisdiction….Type…Status
11/7
Benson,Carl…Cincinnati
PD..MV..Conviction
Jackson,T. R..Cleveland PD..St…Conviction
DeAngelo,A.J..Columbus PD..GS..PendingTrial
12/7
Bannister,J.J…Fairfax Sheriff..MV..Conviction
Carson,Ed.N….Dayton PD……MV..Conviction
Masson,Herb…Cincinnati PD…MV..Conviction
Thompson,E.T……Cleveland PD….GS….Closed
Thompson,Abdul-K.Cleveland PD..GS…Closed
Thompson,Emily..Cleveland PD…GS..Closed
1/7
Borden,Isaiah..Cincinnati PD…St…Pending Trial
Burnstein,Frank..Canton PD..GS..Pending Trial
Lancaster,Victor..Toledo PD…MV..Conviction
Maharos fished a yellow, lined pad from his desk
drawer and examined the list of November 7th homicides. Benson was a motor
vehicular homicide, undoubtedly hit and killed by a drunk driver. Not
interested. He put a line through the name. Thomas Jackson was a stabbing
victim in Cleveland. A little out of the territory, and stabbing was not the
M.O. he was looking for. He placed a question mark next to the name. DeAngelo
had been killed by gunshot and was being investigated by Columbus police.
Although a suspect had been apprehended and was awaiting trial, he knew from
experience that they could have the wrong person—e.g. Young, Roy vs. Tuscarawas
County. He circled the name.
The December list contained no likely candidates
for further study. The three Thompson homicides in Cleveland, he recalled from
reports he had read at the time, were all members of the same family. One had
killed the other two and turned the gun on himself.
In January, the suspect who had gunned down Frank
Burnstein in or near Canton was waiting to be tried. Here it was June. What had
happened to his constitutional right to a speedy trial? Canton was in the right
vicinity for his investigation. Maharos drew a circle around “Burnstein.”
He went through the list eliminating the
vehicular homicides. The stabbing victims he separated from those who had been
killed by gunshot. He subdivided the list into geographic categories. When he
had finished, he had the names of fifteen people—including George Horner and
Noah Hamberger— who were possible gunshot victims of a serial killer.
Now came the legwork.
TEN
Detective Lieutenant Charles Birtcher of the
Canton Police Department peered over the tops of his half-glasses. “Is that the
Greek Adonis I see invading our territory? Or maybe Kojak?”
Al Maharos had just walked through the door of
Birtcher’s office. “Hello, Charlie,” he said.
“Has Ed Bragg sent you over to spy? See how a
department
Hair and fiber analysis from the victim’s
clothing and the truck seat showed mainly an assortment of vegetable fibers.
One sentence in the report leaped out at Maharos: “Several fibers removed from
the front of the victim’s overalls were of a Navy blue wool.” Wool? On a warm
day in June? Were these the same type of fibers found in the vacuumed material
from the carpet of Horner’s car? Hamberger had not been wearing anything made
of wool. Probably the wool fibers had adhered to the murdered man’s overalls
from contact with the killer’s clothing.
Maharos was becoming more and more convinced that
the same person committed the two murders. Since most serial killers selected
their victims at random, there was probably no connection between the two
victims—if there were only two. And if they were both killed by the same
person.
The computer printouts that Maharos had picked up
from Karen Hennessy were still fan-folded. He tore the four sheets apart at
their perforations before he started to read them.
The homicides were listed in four columns. The
first column consisted of the names of the victims; the second, the
jurisdiction charged with investigation of the crime; the third, the type of
homicide; and the fourth column, the status of the case, whether closed by a
conviction, trial pending, or open, meaning unsolved.
He started with November 7th.
Victim………….Jurisdiction….Type…Status
11/7
Benson,Carl…Cincinnati
PD..MV..Conviction
Jackson,T. R..Cleveland PD..St…Conviction
DeAngelo,A.J..Columbus PD..GS..PendingTrial
12/7
Bannister,J.J…Fairfax Sheriff..MV..Conviction
Carson,Ed.N….Dayton PD……MV..Conviction
Masson,Herb…Cincinnati PD…MV..Conviction
Thompson,E.T……Cleveland PD….GS….Closed
Thompson,Abdul-K.Cleveland PD..GS…Closed
Thompson,Emily..Cleveland PD…GS..Closed
1/7
Borden,Isaiah..Cincinnati PD…St…Pending Trial
Burnstein,Frank..Canton PD..GS..Pending Trial
Lancaster,Victor..Toledo PD…MV..Conviction
Maharos fished a yellow, lined pad from his desk
drawer and examined the list of November 7th homicides. Benson was a motor
vehicular homicide, undoubtedly hit and killed by a drunk driver. Not
interested. He put a line through the name. Thomas Jackson was a stabbing
victim in Cleveland. A little out of the territory, and stabbing was not the
M.O. he was looking for. He placed a question mark next to the name. DeAngelo
had been killed by gunshot and was being investigated by Columbus police.
Although a suspect had been apprehended and was awaiting trial, he knew from
experience that they could have the wrong person—e.g. Young, Roy vs. Tuscarawas
County. He circled the name.
The December list contained no likely candidates
for further study. The three Thompson homicides in Cleveland, he recalled from
reports he had read at the time, were all members of the same family. One had
killed the other two and turned the gun on himself.
In January, the suspect who had gunned down Frank
Burnstein in or near Canton was waiting to be tried. Here it was June. What had
happened to his constitutional right to a speedy trial? Canton was in the right
vicinity for his investigation. Maharos drew a circle around “Burnstein.”
He went through the list eliminating the
vehicular homicides. The stabbing victims he separated from those who had been
killed by gunshot. He subdivided the list into geographic categories. When he
had finished, he had the names of fifteen people—including George Horner and
Noah Hamberger— who were possible gunshot victims of a serial killer.
Now came the legwork.
TEN
Detective Lieutenant Charles Birtcher of the
Canton Police Department peered over the tops of his half-glasses. “Is that the
Greek Adonis I see invading our territory? Or maybe Kojak?”
Al Maharos had just walked through the door of
Birtcher’s office. “Hello, Charlie,” he said.
“Has Ed Bragg sent you over to spy? See how a
department
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