Smiley face killer?

[pbray]

It sounds like an idea for an episode of Criminal Minds or perhaps matociquala and friends' Shadow Unit-- a serial killer preying on college men, whose murders go undetected because each death is classified as an accidental drowning. Until the coincidences start piling up, and a potential signature is identified.

The story hit the media outlets last month, and CNN has joined the debate. It has all the ingredients of a classic Hollywood story, including the two detectives who are doggedly pursuing their theory in the face of almost universal disbelief.

It would be fascinating to watch unfold--if you could forget that these were real people, who left grieving family and friends behind.

Comments

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

Yanno, I saved an article from a semi-recent issue of the Trib in which these deaths are discussed. The claim in that article is that there was no evidence supporting a serial killer. Interesting that the opinion is changing in some quarters.

[pbray.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the earlier articles I'd seen had been fairly dismissive, so the latest round of news stories is interesting.

And it would be a nightmare to investigate, with so many potential victims, and how much evidence has been lost over the years (or was never even collected) given the assumption of accidental drowning.