Families Push For Answers In Cases Of 50 Strangled Women; Some Blame A Serial Killer
CHICAGO (CBS) -- More than 50 women have been killed by strangulation in Chicago going back to 2001. The CBS 2 Investigators have highlighted patterns that some say suggest a serial killer could be behind the murders.
Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson said right now there is just not enough information to say a serial killer or killers are responsible for strangling the women, but until arrests are made their families will continue pushing.
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Flyers with names and locations of the tragedies are posted near the spots where Chicago women were found strangled and left for dead in alleys, abandoned lots and trash cans.
City sanitation workers found Riccardo Holyfield's cousin Reo Renee Holyfield in a garbage bin last fall.
"If something don't get done, it's going to get worse," Riccardo said. "People keep dismissing us because of these women's backgrounds."
Thomas Hargrove of the Murder Accountability Project identified a pattern dating back to 2001.
"Disproportionately these women have a history of sex work and illegal drug use," he said. "It is highly unlikely these women were murdered by 50 separate men."
Riccardo, his family and volunteers vow to keep walking in the search for answers not just for their loved on but for all of the murdered women.
"If we continue to allow this to happened everyone's going to lose their family members," he said.
Johnson called for a review of 51 strangulation cases to see if there was any DNA taken and if any links can be made from that.
