Police Seek Link in 25 Fresno-Area Slayings
FRESNO — Law enforcement agencies have formed a task force to seek similarities and possibly serial killers in the murders of 25 Fresno-area women, many of them prostitutes, during the past decade and a half.
There is no hard evidence to indicate a serial killer is on the loose in Fresno, but similar patterns in some of the deaths make that possible, Police Sgt. Mike Guthrie said Monday.
“The patterns indicate that one person may be responsible for more than one homicide,” Guthrie said.
The task force, made up of state, federal and local officials, is focusing on people detectives think could be multiple murderers, he added.
“We’re not saying there’s a serial killer, but we are saying there are similarities in a number of the cases,” Police Lt. John Fries said.
The task force announced its first arrest, that of a Fresno man charged with one homicide that occurred a year and a half ago. Charles Jones, 40, was arrested Friday on a charge of murdering Barbara Grayson at Olive and Hughes avenues in December, 1989.
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