Louisiana Authorities Hunt for Serial Killer Suspect

BATON ROUGE - Authorities threw out a nationwide net Monday in their hunt for a man they identified through DNA as the killer of five women in Lafayette and Baton Rouge.

An arrest warrant has been issued Monday morning for Derrick Todd Lee of St. Francisville, after authorities confirmed that DNA obtained from him on May 5 positively matched the DNA taken from the body of Carrie Lynn Yoder, the last known victim of a serial killer.

Suspect sought in 5 slayings
Suspect in Louisiana slayings may have been spotted in Atlanta

By MELINDA DESLATTE
Associated Press

After a DNA sweep spanning 10 months, police issued a murder warrant for Derrick Todd Lee, described as the prime suspect in the killing of five women in south Louisiana,

The prime suspect in the killings of five women in south Louisiana might have been in Atlanta over the weekend, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

GBI spokesman John Bankhead said Derrick Todd Lee was possibly spotted on Sunday, walking on the southside of Atlanta and wearing blue jean shorts, a brown striped shirt and a blue baseball cap.

The multi-agency Metro Fugitive Squad was working today with the U.S. Marshal's office to search for Lee, who is 6 feet, 1 inch tall, weighs 220 pounds and has a five-inch scar on his right wrist, Bankhead said.

"If you do see him, don't approach him," Bankhead said. "Call your local police or 911 because he is armed, possibly with a small-caliber handgun, and obviously is extremely dangerous."

After examining DNA from more than 1,000 people, police issued a murder warrant Monday for Lee, saying his DNA linked him to one of the deaths.

Lee was charged in the warrant with murder and aggravated rape in the killing of Carrie Yoder, 26, a Louisiana State University graduate student who became the serial killer's fifth victim in March.

The FBI also issued a fugitive warrant Monday, and police released a photo of Lee and asked the public to help locate him.

"He is to be considered armed and dangerous," said Police Chief Pat Englade, head of the task force investigating the killings.

While the warrant accuses Lee only of Yoder's murder, it says the DNA evidence removed from Yoder's body matched that taken from the other four victims.

Lee's home in St. Francisville, a small town north of Baton Rouge, sat open and empty Monday. Records show Lee and his wife filed for bankruptcy in November 2002, and a court order to allow foreclosure on his house was signed May 16.

Bankruptcy records listed Lee's occupation as a truck driver.

Jane Lee, who identified herself as Lee's grandmother when contacted by phone in St. Francisville, said her grandson and his wife have two children.

The naming of a suspect came nearly a year after police linked the murders of three Baton Rouge women to a single DNA profile, creating a frenzy in the area as women flocked to self-defense classes and bought pepper spray and handguns.

Police conducted a massive 10-month DNA dragnet for the suspect, taking cheek scrapings and swabbings from more than 1,000 men. The search led some men to complain they felt pressured to volunteer their DNA to rid themselves of suspicion. Defense attorneys have questioned the legality of the search.

The warrant says a DNA sample was taken from Lee on May 5, but did not say why or under what circumstances. St. Francisville Police Chief Wendell Fontenot said Lee had "miscellaneous run-ins over time" with police, but he said he was unable to immediately give further details.

Newspaper accounts show Lee has a record of arrests on charges of peeping into homes, stalking, burglary and criminal trespassing.

After a fight in a bar, he was arrested after police said he ran a roadblock. He was accused of attempted first-degree murder of a police officer, according to The Advocate newspaper of Baton Rouge.

A reporter walked through Lee's house outside St. Francisville on Monday and found carpets ripped up, siding from the walls torn away, wires exposed, cabinets open, window shades ripped down and light fixtures torn out.

Sherman Drury, a neighbor, described Lee as "very clean and neatly dressed" and said he was seldom home but his wife and children stayed there. Drury said he had not seen Lee in about a week.

The DNA match to Lee, an African-American, conflicts with descriptions in an FBI profile released months ago that said the killer likely was white. Police said after Yoder's slaying that the killer could be of any race.

Yoder, from Tampa, was beaten severly, raped and strangled. The other victims were Gina Wilson Green, 41; Charlotte Murray Pace, 22; Pam Kinamore, 44, all of Baton Rouge; and Trineisha Dene Colomb, 23, of Lafayette.

Ann Pace, mother of the killer's second victim, said she was "overwhelmed and nauseated" when she heard a suspect was named in the case.

"You have to be glad because it seems inevitable, I hope, that they will catch him. That means no one else will die, and that's all that matters," Pace said.

"Of course, I wish it had happened sooner," she added.

Ed White, Kinamore's brother-in-law, said his family wouldn't be "totally elated" until Lee was captured, and warned women not to let down their guard. "We need the public's help in apprehending him, because he's on the run," White said.

Police narrowly miss suspected serial killer in Atlanta

The Associated Press - ATLANTA

The man suspected of killing six women in Louisiana fled to a dingy Atlanta motel, befriending residents, grilling ribs and chicken at a party and setting up a Bible study.

Neighbors described Derrick Todd Lee as a charming, handsome man who dated several women and promised them cognac if they would come to his room.

This guy, he was handsome, said Bubukutty Idicalla, manager of the Lakewood Motor Lodge, where Lee paid $135 cash for a week in a one-room efficiency apartment. He would go to the ladies and say, You married? You married?

Lee abruptly left his room in southwest Atlanta on Monday, the day the FBI filed a fugitive warrant for him. Lee told residents his mother was sick and he had to go home to Louisiana. But police say they think hes still nearby.

Mr. Lee is very dangerous, we believe hes here in Atlanta and we need to get him arrested, said Vernon Keenan, director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Over the last few weeks, Lee traveled by bus from Louisiana to Chicago and then to Atlanta, said U.S. Marshall Richard Mecum. Lee has been in Atlanta at least a week, and he may be working construction or concrete contracting jobs that pay cash, authorities said. Hes traveling with two duffel bags and wearing a tan Members Only jacket.

Lee, 34, was charged Monday with murder and aggravated rape in the killing of Carrie Yoder, 26, a Louisiana State University student who became the serial killers fifth suspected victim in March. The first killing was 11 years ago, and police say Lee may be connected to other unsolved killings as well.

The FBI released Lees photo Monday, asking the public to help locate him. The naming of a suspect came nearly a year after police linked the murders of three Baton Rouge women to a single DNA profile. The warrant accuses Lee only of Yoders murder, though it says DNA evidence removed from Yoders body matched that taken from the other four victims.

Police in Zachary, La., a suburb of Baton Rouge, obtained a DNA sample from Lee _ which linked him to the five slayings _ earlier this month because they were investigating him for an unconnected disappearance in their town.

Motel residents say Lee cleared out Monday, shortly after borrowing the managers cell phone to call two numbers in the Baton Rouge area. According to Idicalla, police traced the number, called Idicallas cell phone and asked if he knew Lee.

When Idicalla told police Lee there, authorities headed to the run-down motel. But by the time Marshals got there, Lee was gone, taken to a train station by a resident who thought he was headed home to see his sick mother.

We have not actually laid eyes on him. Right now were in his wake _ were right behind him, Mecum said.

Lee made friends with many of the 50 or so residents of the motel and was known as a ladys man. Resident Brenda Jones, 48, said he was very nice.

He wasnt violent-acting. He didnt talk about violence. He talked about the Bible a lot. Let me tell you, he knew the Bible.

Motel residents said Lee didnt have a car and got rides to a pawn shop, where he sold gold jewelry. His behavior didnt stand out around the motel.

I prayed with this man. I gave him rides, said Valerie Thwaites, a maid and receptionist at the motel. He was very gorgeous and very kind to me.

Lee entertained several women in his room, neighbors said. He would often compliment their hair and offer them drinks.

He was nice, and he had a pretty woman stay the night, Idicalla said. I could not believe it when the police came and said he was wanted for killing women. None of us could believe it.

Anyone who believes they may have seen Lee is asked to call the GBI at 1-800-597-TIPS.

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