In the downtown area of Chicago, where Lake Michigan and the Chicago River meet, 16 people have been found drowned after disappearing over the past year, raising concerns about the possibility of a ‘serial murder’.
According to Chicago NBC Broadcasting, New York Post and Daily Mail on the 29th, the bodies of 10 men and 6 women who were reported missing in the Chicago River and Lake Michigan in downtown Chicago from March last year until recently were found drowned.
Tracy Walder, who served as an intelligence agent for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), raised the possibility of a serial killer, saying, “Similar incidents are frequent and there is a certain pattern to the incidents.”
He said that many of the causes of death were judged to be ‘accidental drowning’ and many remain ‘indeterminate’, that the bodies were found at a distance from the place where the victims were last seen, and that a large number of victims occurred in a short period of time. As a basis, he said, “If there are so many similar patterns overall, it can no longer be seen as a ‘coincidence’. He added, “Serial killers tend to follow a certain pattern. In addition, if the victim is thrown into the water after the murder, much of the forensic evidence will disappear, so you can aim for the perfect crime.”
In this regard, John Jay College Criminal Justice Professor Joseph Giakalon, who was a former New York Police Department (NYDP), said, “I was taught that all deaths should be regarded as murder and investigated until a clear cause of death is confirmed.
Noah Innos (26), a victim of a recent incident, went missing on the 12th after watching a rock concert at a concert hall along the Chicago River with his co-workers. On the 17th, five days later, he was found drowned in the Chicago River, one block away from the concert hall. The judicial authorities have yet to determine the direct cause of Enos’ death, and his family claims ‘murder’.
In December of last year, Kristof Schubert (21), who came to Chicago for work training in Poland, stopped by a bar with his colleagues and disappeared on the way home. A few days later, Peter Salvino (25), a doctoral student at Northwestern University, went missing while returning home after attending a party held in Lincoln Park, north of the city.
Alcohol may be a factor in both cases according to police. Chicago police have not commented on the possibility of a serial killer.