An Overcast ,hazy morning in the late summer....A Gruesome discovery at The Schuykill River...
The body of a young woman....The third body of a young woman this month was being dragged from the river,,,
Dr. Hazel Baylor was already on the scene, ready to examine the body...
as were the CSI and Forensic people...
I am ADA Keith Wallace...I prosecute major crimes.... I never get used to this, the prevailing presence of death...sudden death..a life interrupted..
"Danny, this looks the same as your other two." said Lt. Sissy Van Buren...
"I know...That's why I called you guys in...She's dressed in a negligee' , practically see through...same colored panties and bra and like the others she's got a red ribbon tied around her neck..." he said..
Detective Tyriq pile had on latex gloves...He observed the body...
"She was strangled...Manual Strangulation....Carlotta...She..She looks like you..." he exclaimed..
"Thank You Rico...I feel so much better."said my wife, Detective Carlotta Rodriguez-Wallace..who jokingly punched him on the arm..She too had on latex gloves...
"You have a point...She does resemble me...as a teen-ager.."said Carlotta..
"Hmmm, wonder if she was raped like the other two?" asked Jimmy...
"The other two weren't raped... Hazel said the sex appeared to be consensual..."said Detective Sirena Pile, Tyriq's wife..
''Same Red ribbon tied in a bow around the neck....Exact same White sheer baby doll, Lime green panty and bra set.." said Detective Tony Hopkins...
"Same M.O. Latina female, working girl...This lingerie came from Bridget's store...It should be easy to trace..."said Detective Angela Belton-Barlow, Jimmy's wife..
"The sales tags have been ripped off....but that's a start." said her partner, Detective Edwin "Duke" Baylor, Hazel's husband..
"I'll put this through VICAP and see if the M.O. fits any killings elsewhere.."said Sharon Ferrell-Hopkins, FBI Deputy Special Agent in charge , who often worked with us on cases...
"Can I release the body?" asked Hazel..
"Yeah, go ahead Hazel.."said Lt., Danny Ho of Robbery-Homicide..Then he did a double take..
"Shit! I was hoping we could keep this quiet a little while longer ." he said..
He saw Lt. Tragg, Three uniformed officers and a gaggle of Press corps arriving on the scene..
"What have we got here...Another one eh?...Another SCHUYLKILL RIVER KILLING!! he blurted out....THIS IS WHAT ? NUMBER THREE?" he said..
"What are you doing? Why are you here?" asked Lt. Sissy Van Buren..
"The question is...Why are you here Sissy? This is a Homicide..A serial killing and you're not going to say it isn't." said Lt. Tragg.
"It is...but we don't want to start a panic...but it's a little late for that now.."said Sissy..
Reporters were everywhere, snapping photos...getting in the way...
Duke and Tyriq ordered the uniformed officers to push them back...
while the body was removed...
"What's the matter Danny, this case over your head?" sneered Lt. Tragg…
"It's not a simple homicide...THAT'S WHY I CALLED SISSY AND HER TEAM IN...WE HAVE WORKED TOGETHER BEFORE! They INVESTIGATE MAJOR CRIMES LIKE THESE..." said Danny Ho, who couldn't hide the fact that he was exasperated with Lt. Tragg's grandstanding..
"You could have called me in."said Lt. Tragg..
"Why would he do that? He wants this case solved." said Sharon...
The reporters burst into raucous laughter....
"Damn, even SHE knows " said one reporter...
Jimmy was howling.....
Sirena gently pulled him away...
"Come on...before you get yourself in trouble." she said..
Carlotta, Tyriq, Hop, Angie, Duke, Sissy and I all followed Jimmy and Sirena...
Lt. Tragg said to Hazel so that the reporters could hear it..
"Dr. Baylor..I want a copy of all three autopsies on my desk ASAP!"
"Not your case....I'm making two copies of each...One for Criminal Investigation Division and FBI Violent Crimes Task Force and the other for Lt. Danny Ho...If you want to see it..You go talk to them." said Hazel defiantly...
as the body was put in a van and she and her people followed it..
Lt. Tragg addressed the press
"We are calling this guy..."The Red Ribbon Killer", I as the Senior officer will be co-ordinating the investigation with CID, Robbery-Homicide and the FBI." he said.
"Doesn't look like it to me...Your troops left without you ."said a Reporter..
"Yeah ,you better hurry up and catch up."said another reporter..
More Raucous laughter followed..
Lt. Tragg was furious...
II-
We chose to meet in the FBI Conference Room of our building...A Floor up from ours. No Doubt Lt. Tragg was on his way here with Press...
The uniforms had strict orders..No Press allowed in our building at all... We couldn't stop Lt. Tragg, but he wasn't going to have an audience...
In The FBI conference room we sat around a big table and we discussed what we knew...
''Danny ,we'll start with you.." said Sissy.
"We discovered the first body about a month ago...in the river.....White Sheer Baby doll, Lime Green Panties, Matching Lime Green Bra...red bowtie tied around the neck...cause of death, manual strangulation.... The young girl was 19, Latina, a known working girl with a couple of drug arrests, we were working it hard and then a few weeks later, another girl washes up in the river...same M.O. White Sheer Baby doll, Lime Green panties and bra, red ribbon tied around the neck...Same M.O., Latina, suspected pro, 22 years old, Heroin addict...both girls lived within blocks of each other in Fishtown...Same area you and Jimmy are from Carlotta."said Danny Ho.
"He's not from Fishtown...He's from Port Richmond.."Carlotta sneered and then playfully punched Jimmy on the shoulder...She had known him probably longer than anyone in the room except for Sharon and Hop...
They were in the academy together.
''Yeah well today's victim breaks the pattern....She was from Port Richmond...Latina, but not a pro, no drugs in history...No Arrests...She was a good girl...Worked in her parents Bodega." said Jimmy.
"Our killer trolls those two areas...He's obviously got a thing for Puerto Rican or Spanish girls.."said Tyriq...
"Okay...I'll put a team on the traffic and street cams in all of those areas....Known areas where the pros hang out in Kensington, Frankford, Port Richmond and Fishtown/Northern Liberties..."said Duke..
''And Sirena and I will check out that Bodega, see if they have any footage or know of anybody peculiar hanging around."said Hop.
"I'm thinking maybe this killer was someone all three of these girls knew and or trusted...Hazel said the sex appeared to be consensual..."said Sirena...
"What about the underwear?" I asked.. "All three had on the exact same thing...Co-incidence??" I asked..
"No it's not a co-incidence...The killer had been around these girls for awhile...The pieces I saw are different sizes...He knew their bust size, their dress size everything...The three girls were different sizes...I think maybe I should take a trip to Bridget's store and see if they caught anyone on the store camera...Maybe somebody remembers a man buying three identical Baby dolls and asking for specific colors of panties and bras."said Angie..
"That's all good...Let's hope our killer used a credit card or said something or did something that people remember..."said Sissy...
"I'm checking VICAP now to see if there are any other killings in the area or around the country that resemble these..."said Sharon..
.Sharon had some of her FBI agents scanning Street Cams and Traffic Cams in the area leading up to the river...looking for cars or any strange activity....
"Thank you guys for helping me out with this..." said Lt. Danny Ho...
''Danny, we go back...way back....I remember when I first became a Lieutenant in Homicide...You were the one who showed me the ropes...and you were just a Detective...I'm so proud of you...A Lieutenant now.." said Sissy...
Several cups of coffee were served....
An FBI agent appeared at the door..
"Sharon...A Lieutenant Tragg is here to see you guys.." he said.
Sharon sighed...
"Let him in.." she said.
III-
Lt. Tragg walked in and looked around... He was angry that the Press was not allowed in...and angrier still that he had not been called in on the investigation...
"Sitting round drinking coffee while a serial killer has the town in an uproar..."he said sarcastically...
"This coffee is pretty good....It's French Roast...You oughta try some.." said Jimmy...
"Jimmy!" said Sirena, nudging him..
Hop ,Carlotta and even Angie giggled...
'The City wouldn't be in an uproar if you hadn't brought the press along and grandstanded.."said Sissy...
"Let me remind you that I am the superior officer here...And you are not to question my decisions.."said Lt. Tragg...
"What is it you want?" asked Sharon, who was beyond exasperated with Lt. Tragg...
''Where are we on this killer?"he asked..
"We are going to be canvassing the areas where prostitutes and drug activity take place in Kensington, Port Richmond, Fishtown, Northern Liberties...and interviewing people who knew the girls as well as looking into the Lingerie stores where the underwear was purchased..we hope to find out if anyone strange or odd was in or around the stores as well as look into the personal lives of the three young ladies...Homicide 101."said Sissy...
Hazel walked in, she whispered something in Sissy's ear...
"What do you have on those bodies?" asked Lt. Tragg..
"They all died of manual strangulation...The bodies were in the water too long to have any DNA or Forensic material on them.."said Hazel tersely...
Sissy stood up...
"We don't have time to banter with you anymore Lt. Tragg….We have to go..."said Sissy who motioned for her detectives to get up and follow her and Hazel.
which they all did...
"And where do you think you're going?" he asked..
"They're doing police work...Something you should be doing." said Sharon...
Danny Ho got up, gathered his case files and also left.....
Lt. Tragg was left standing in an empty conference room..
IV-
on a side street near a brand new condo unit sat a dusty SUV...
The car was still warm, so it had been recently driven...
Detective Sam Smith of Missing Persons stood by the SUV...He had four uniformed officers standing by...
"Hey Sis....Thanks for coming...You were the first person I thought of when I discovered this." he said..
"When you discovered what?" asked Sissy...
He motioned to one of the officers..
"Open it up." he said..
The odor of death hit us all..
"WHOAAAAAA!" said Jimmy, turning his head..
''AYE MIOS DIOS!" said Carlotta.
"Good Night Nurse!" said Tyriq...
Sitting in the front seat in a night gown was a woman about 47 or 48.....She had been shot in the right temple..Her head was slumped over the steering wheel..
In the back seat was two girls...One about 18 and the other about 22...both in night gowns...one gunshot wound to the chest a piece...
''What does the state of the body tell you detective?" asked Hazel..
"They're cold and they are stiff....From the state of rigor...I'd say they've been dead for about a week."said Sirena..
"They're blue....We will have a hard time identifying them.."said Hop...
"I already know who they are...They the Hudsons….Mother and two daughters...She left her abusive husband and he came to Missing Persons looking for them....I been running down leads for two weeks...I never expected to find this..That's why I called you..The Husband is over there talking to the officers..."said Sam Smith..
"Ange, let's go talk to him." said Duke.
''Yeah."said Angie..
The husband was distraught, crying profusely....
Duke and Angie walked over and talked to him...
We had a serial killer on the loose, someone killing Latina girls...and now we had a triple murder...Someone killed this mother and her two young daughters...
The first body was loaded into a body bag.....I watched impassionately...
The second body was loaded into the M.E.'s van.....Maybe I've been doing this too long!
The last body came out....This was cruel...No, we had to catch whoever did this...They had to pay..
I am ADA Keith Wallace...I prosecute major crimes.... I never get used to this, the prevailing presence of death...sudden death.. lives interrupted.. (TO BE CONTINUED)
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