Cover

Dedication

From Steph:
For my parents, Ann and Dave
And my husband, Danny

From Nicole:
For Mom and Dad

PROLOGUE

THE DAILY GAZETTE

Monday, April 2nd, 2012

THE TRI-STATE KILLER STRIKES AGAIN

The bodies of two Syracuse University women were found on Saturday, March 31st. They were discovered by bartender, Louis Castille, as he was disposing of the trash at the end of his shift. Castille noticed two large plastic storage containers that were sealed with duct tape, sitting next to the garbage bins in the secluded alley behind his bar. Castille called the police after opening one container and finding a body inside, which was later identified as Elizabeth Benton.

‘It was terrible,’ said Castille, still visibly shaken by his discovery. ‘She was folded over at the waist like she was kneeling in the bin, her hair was hanging forward and blocking her face, but the smell hit me as soon as the lid was removed.’

The second container held the body of Kelly Davidson, Benton’s roommate. The women were reported missing a little over nine months ago after they failed to show up for classes and work. After a thorough search of the small two-bedroom home the women were renting near campus, police found evidence indicating the perpetrator had broken in through a window at the back of the house, entering through the kitchen. What the police didn’t find, however, were signs of a struggle, suggesting the women may have been asleep or otherwise taken by surprise during the attack.

The two deaths are believed to be the twenty-second and twenty-third victims attributed to The Tri-State Killer. To date, eleven pairs of bodies have been discovered in sealed containers across the Tri-State area. Benton and Davidson’s bodies were in the early stages of decomposition, suggesting they had been killed not long before their bodies were discarded in the alley.

The Tri-State Killer is known for abducting and murdering young women in pairs, however the first killing attributed to him back in 1974, was a single victim. The body of Linda Lavelle, found dumped in the woods on a pile of assembled rocks, was connected to the subsequent double murders by the numbers penned on to each victim’s forehead, including Lavelle. A statement from law enforcement noted, ‘Most likely, the first murder was an unplanned victim of opportunity. This sloppiness is why our only evidence, a partial DNA sample, is from the first victim. He’s been honing his craft, his method of kidnapping and murdering for almost forty years, which makes him extremely dangerous.’