Fuentes come up with anything linking the first two families?”
“Nothing,” said Liman. “We went through their records, ran down everybody who had keys, and talked with neighbors, coworkers, and family members. Came up cold on all fronts.”
Huff referred to his notes. “Shanelec? You took the plumbing logo.”
“Yes, sir,” said Shanelec. “I’ve phoned every paint shop and magnetic sign manufacturer from here to San Diego. If the guy had a phony sign made, it wasn’t done around here.”
“Widen your search.”
“Yes, sir.”
Huff turned to Snead. “Any progress with the federal inquiries?”
Snead scowled. “None,” he said, still fuming over his run-in with me. “No hits on the prints, and our NCIC inquiry turned up negative. I heard from the feds at Quantico this morning, too. Negative on the VICAP search.”
Huff made a notation in his folder. “Okay, let’s proceed to new business. Two Newport Beach detectives are joining the unit: Dick Feimer and Greg Sugita.”
Several members of the task force, including me, nodded at the newcomers.
“Four other detective pairs will also be joining our ranks,” Huff continued. “Two teams from LAPD, two from Orange County.” He picked up a stack of papers from his desk, took one, and handed the remainder to Liman to distribute. “These are copies of the FBI profile we requested. Over the past weeks I’ve had a number of conversations with the Bureau, including a conference call yesterday between me, Dr. Berns, Special Agent Clay Hatcher, who’s the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office profile coordinator, and Douglas Mark of their Investigative Support Unit in Virginia. I’ve asked Dr. Berns to give us his overview on what the FBI behaviorists came up with. By the way, this report is strictly confidential. Heads will roll if any of it turns up in the papers. Sid, you want to take it from here?”
Dr. Berns made his way to the front of the assembly. As he did, I began flipping through the pages I’d been given, noting that the FBI team had organized their work into a number of sections including victimology, crime- scene analysis, a dissection of the crimes themselves, an evaluation of the police reports and autopsy protocols, psychological conclusions concerning the killer, and a final page offering suggestions that might lead to the killer’s apprehension. This last page interested me most.
Berns reached the front of the room, adjusted his glasses, and began. “I’ll make this quick,” he said. “The killer’s timetable has shortened. The interval between the first two murders was twenty-five days; the murders last night followed in fifteen. In addition, the killings have become more violent. We can expect these trends to continue.”
“How can they get more violent?” someone asked.
Ignoring the comment, Berns opened his copy of the report. “You’ll find that the FBI autopsy mostly agrees with my initial assessment-with a few noteworthy exceptions. I’ll summarize their conclusions, skimming over sections that add nothing new and discussing in more detail areas where I disagree, but I strongly suggest you read the report in its entirety.
“First of all, the FBI’s analysis of the first two families reveals the victims to be low-risk, high-profile individuals. The third family falls in the same category. For this reason and other similarities in the crimes, including the killings having taken place in highly populated, middle class neighborhoods, the family members are not categorized as victims of opportunity and were probably selected well before their murders.”
“They were stalked,” said Collins.
“Correct,” said Berns. “The killer knew his victims, at least marginally. Furthermore, with the exception of replacing the husbands’ bodies in bed and covering his victims with a blanket-something that the behaviorists agree is probably ritualistic and not representative of any form of remorse-the killer is making no effort at concealment. This indicates a desire for recognition. His violence is close-range and confrontational, with varying degrees of savagery inflicted on various family members, although his rage is primarily directed toward women. Nonetheless, the familial aspect of the crimes should not be overlooked.
“Second: In brief, analysis of the crime scenes demonstrates the killer’s willingness to modify them to suit his needs. He feels comfortable in the homes, taking hours to complete his crimes. He employs disparate methods to kill each member, for the most part using materials brought with him. These factors, along with the lack of evidence found at the scenes, suggest a high degree of organization and planning, both before and after committing the crimes.
“The third section is fairly long, but what it boils down to is this: The autopsies show that although the husbands were not sexually molested, the killer performed postmortem acts on the women, revealing a necrosadistic sexual motivation.”
“Meaning the guy has to kill to achieve orgasm?” asked Deluca.
“Right,” Berns replied. “Leaving the bodies in positions of repose, the killer’s use of candles, his cutting of the husbands’ eyelids, and the different techniques employed to kill other family members all demonstrate a high level of ritualism. This, taken with the degree of organization and planning shown throughout other phases of the crimes, suggests a killer who has reached an advanced state of development. In addition to torture, the other common element in his murders is a preselection of victims, probably focusing on the wife, although again the familial aspect should not be considered coincidental.
“The next section contains the FBI’s physical and psychological assessment of the killer. It’s open to interpretation, but some parts may prove useful. Most of it parallels the analysis I already gave you, but there are a few new things. The profilers think the killer may have a record of criminal and psychological disturbances. If a criminal background is present, instances of assault and rape would be expected. If he’s been institutionalized in a mental hospital, the diagnosis would probably have been manic depressive psychosis or paranoid schizophrenia. They also think he’s of slightly above-average intelligence, and that jewelry, clothing, other personal items taken from his victims may have been given to others.”
I glanced around the room. Every detective present was concentrating on the sheets before them. “The last section may prove the most useful,” Berns went on, flipping to the final page. “As noted earlier, the killer’s selection of high profile victims, his leaving the front doors open, and his failure to conceal the bodies suggest a desire for recognition. Typically, he may try to inject himself into the investigation.”
“Lend us poor dumb cops a hand,” I said.
“Right. The Bureau guys think this may present an increased chance of locating him. Organizing community meetings to discuss the killings, for instance, then getting the names and license plate numbers of anyone who attends. Another proactive approach would be examining males who repeatedly phone in on the hotline. In that regard, news releases could be designed to encourage the killer to call. And, of course, unauthorized men visiting the crime scenes or gravesites should be considered suspect.
“I like the idea of organizing community meetings,” said Huff.
“The media angle might work, too,” I added. “It sure didn’t take our guy long to react the last time around. News release on Friday; murders on Sunday.”
“There’s no proof that the Welsh killings resulted from Domingos’s arrest,” Snead said defensively.
“Maybe not, but it’s possible.”
Berns nodded. “The killer is undoubtedly following the case in the news. He had probably already planned the Welsh murders, but the false arrest may have angered him enough to make him accelerate his timetable.”
“You said there were areas where you disagreed with the FBI report,” noted Huff. “Could you go over those?”
“Of course,” answered Berns. “For one, I don’t accept the behaviorists’ assessment of the killer being of only slightly above-average intelligence. Everything I’ve seen suggests he’s smarter than that.”
“Anything else?”
“Along the same line, I would be surprised if he gave away items taken from his victims. Too dangerous.”
“Does that go for his calling in on the hotline, hanging around the crime scenes, and all the other mistakes we’re hoping he makes?” I asked.
“In my estimation, yes. If he’s as intelligent as I suspect, he’s probably well versed in police investigative techniques.”
