One would think someone on the Multi-Agency Task Force might have thought to put hidden cameras in the Whiskey Bay area just in hopes that the serial killer would follow a common serial killer pattern of dumping victims in similar spots. One might expect that eight months after investigators released the color, make and model of the serial killer’s suspected vehicle, someone would have more information about this guy to release.
As editor of a newspaper that has covered the investigations from day one and as a concerned member of the campus community, I am frustrated with the progress of the task force. But the truth is, there are 27,000 white pickup trucks in the Baton Rouge area, and even if the task force had narrowed that pool down a bit, the media and the public most likely would not find out.
“It’s very common for people to think not much is going on, when in fact, behind the scenes a lot may be happening,” said Bill Morlin, a Spokesman Review criminal justice reporter from Spokane, Wash., and co-author of “Bad Trick: the Hunt for the Spokane Serial Killer.”
Morlin explained the hunt for serial killer Robert Yates in Spokane lasted almost four years. In those years between 1997 and 2000, Yates murdered at least 11 women and frustrated a community so much that at one point, it even talked about disbanding the Spokane task force for apparent lack of progress.
“The Spokane Police Department pulled out [of the multi-agency task force] four months before our killer was actually captured, only to rejoin the team the day after his arrest,” Morlin said.
Morlin only learned about the actual methods and progress of the Spokane task force after Yates was convicted. Though I can’t assure The Reveille’s readers those task force members in Baton Rouge are working as hard as those in Spokane did, it is difficult to believe they are as incompetent as they appear.
The Baton Rouge area task force earlier this year announced it is using the same priority system investigators in Spokane and many others in the past have used to sift through the thousands of tips it has received thus far. According to Morlin, even though much work of investigators in cases like these is secret, the public’s eyes and ears and the tips that result from them are critical in solving those cases. With the priority system, investigators can focus on the tips that yield more likely suspects to work as quickly as possible.
Yes, anger and frustration rightfully will emerge each time another victim’s face appears in the news, but I feel confident our investigators will catch this individual no matter how long it takes. And from what representatives are saying, it could take some time.
“It’s my understanding that usually, an investigation like this takes a minimum of two years to make an arrest,” Cpl. Mary Ann Godawa, task force spokeswoman, told the Lafayette Daily Advertiser reporters in January. “We know that this could turn into a long-term investigation, but the entire task force is positive that an arrest will be made.”
In the meantime, it is the media’s responsibility to be advocates for the public’s right to know. I can assure The Reveille’s readers I will always push for information because I believe Morlin when he says an “alert and informed public is best way for police to catch a serial killer.” But I won’t be surprised if while investigators say they have nothing to report, the man who is murdering area women is right under their noses.