True serial killer conspiracies (two or more killers acting in concert) are extremely rare, perhaps the best known exception in recent history being Charles Ng and Leonard Lake. Organized criminal conspiracies (i.e. drug gangs) which are more common tend to kill for territorial control, revenge, etc. but the article states that for now, any evidence regarding motive is being held close to the investigators' vests.
Occam's razor suggests that lots of college kids get blitzed every weekend and unknowingly place their lives in high risk situations, but the smiley faces found near each of the bodies in these cases does suggest something far more insidious than a string of accidents.
According to the article, "The investigation started 11 years ago in New York when then-Sgt. Gannon made a promise to the parents of Patrick McNeill...Patrick McNeill was last seen at a New York City bar in 1997. His body was found 50 days later, 11 miles downriver."
In the mid to late 90's internet usage on campuses mushroomed from almost minimal to virtually omnipresent. The similarity of the smiley faces to the ubiquitos emoticon, ":)", coupled with the geographic range of the killings suggests to me that these may be a series of linked killings, perhaps some kind of bizarre "online" gang initiation.
"True serial killer conspiracies (two or more killers acting in concert) are extremely rare,"
Not THAT rare. There were also the Hillside Stranglers, the Manson family, Leopold & Loeb, Otis Toole and Henry Lee Lucas, the Texas "Candyman" killings, and others.
That’s a plausible theory. The murders have been in several different states, so they must be connected by something like the internet. A bunch of Goth kids whose Dungeon and Dragon-like games have escalated to murder?