Daytona Beach killer

Daytona Beach Serial Killer
Daytona Beach, Florida birth place of the killings
Background information
Birth name	Unknown assailant
Also known as	The Daytona Beach Serial Killer
Killings
Number of victims:	4
Span of killings	December, 2005–December, 2007
Country	USA
State(s)	Daytona Beach, Florida
Date apprehended	Unapprehended

The Daytona Beach killer is a serial killer responsible for the murders of four women in the Daytona Beach area from December 2005–December 2007. The killer has never been apprehended. The involvement of a serial killer was realized when police were able to connect the four deaths due to DNA samples found at the crime scenes

Victims

The first known victim of the offender was 45-year-old Laquetta Gunther. She was found in an alley on December 26, 2005. She had been shot in the head. The offender's second victim was 34-year-old Julie Green, found January 14. She had also been shot to death. Just over a month later, on February 24, police found the body of Iwana Patton, 35, on a dirt road. Authorities received an anonymous telephone call describing the location of Patton's body, but the caller was eventually identified and questioned, and is not a suspect in the killings. All three women are believed to have worked as prostitutes in the Daytona Beach area. Police believe the victims voluntarily accompanied the offender, possibly in a vehicle, and were subsequently murdered and dumped in the same area of Daytona Beach. The offender did not attempt to conceal the bodies.

The remains of Stacey Charlene Gage, 30, were found on January 3, 2008. Police have not revealed a cause of death, however they have stated that they believe she was killed December 11, 2007. Police have further stated that the circumstances surrounding the case are eerily similar to the three previous unsolved homicides. Unlike the first three victims, Gage did not have a criminal record involving prostitution; however, she did have a history of drug problems.

Possible Connection

In October 2006, the body of known prostitute Lisa Marie French, 39, was found in Sanford, Florida. Police first reported that French had been strangled to death, but autopsy results were inconclusive in regards to the cause of her death. Daytona Beach Police Chief Mike Chitwood has since disclosed that French was probably not the victim of foul play.^[1]

Attempts to Solve

The Daytona Beach PD are taking DNA samples from motorists fitting what the profiler says is a white male with a girlfriend with field DNA kits that will be taken to a lab to match with genetic material taken from the crime scenes.^[2]

References

1. ^ Police: No visible cause of death
2. ^ Police Swabbing Mouths During Traffic Stops In Serial Killer Hunt

External links

• Daytona Beach: The Hunt For The Killer
• Daytona Serial Killer May Have Strangled Prostitute
• Daytona Beach serial killer set to strike again?
• Daytona Serial Killings
• Police: Dead woman's death 'eerily similar' to earlier serial killer murders
• Woman Found Dead May Be Work Of Daytona Beach Serial Killer