Is there a serial killer behind it?: 16 drowned bodies in 16 months in Chicago

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The residents of Chicago are afraid that a serial killer is roaming the American city. Ten men and six women have been recovered from the Chicago River and Lake Michigan since early last year.

Despite the many corpses and abnormalities, the police do not assume a connection. In the foreground would be an accident or suicide. But now former FBI agent Tracy Walder (41) speaks what many residents of the metropolis think. “I don’t believe in so many coincidences. To me, there is clear evidence that the death streak is the work of a serial killer,” she told the New York Post.

Recently, on June 17, the body of Noah E.* († 26) was taken out of the water. The 26-year-old disappeared without a trace after a rock concert. His family is now demanding clarification from the police. It is not yet clear how the young man died. His family has hired private investigators to “find justice for Noah,” his father writes on a donation page. “Noah wasn’t the first to suddenly disappear and then be pulled out of the river. We hope he will be the last!” Nicole W.*, Noah E.’s girlfriend, told the New York Post.

“An indication that there is more to it”

In March 2022, Kathleen M.* (46) was the first dead person to be pulled out of the water. Two of the six female bodies and one of the ten male bodies have not yet been identified. The cause of death in most cases was “drowning” or “unexplained” – with half of the cause of death recorded by coroners as “undeterminable”. Two of the cases – Karina A.* († 31) and Anthony R.* († 23) – were filed as suicides. According to police insiders, two other deaths from December 2022 – Peter S.* († 25) and Krzysztof S.* († 21) – would be surveillance camera recordings, according to which both “men are under the influence of alcohol alone along Lake Michigan walked”.

Twelve dead remain. From which former Federal agent Walder concludes that there could be violence. “We have ‘death clusters’ – multiple cases in a short period of time. In my experience, that is an indication that there is more to it.” In addition, a serial killer “ideally can obscure forensic evidence by throwing his victims into the water.”

Chicago police have so far declined to comment on the serial killer theory. Walder demands that “at least the possibility be taken into account in the study – because too many identical patterns just can’t be a coincidence.” (jmh)

* Names known

Source: Blick