Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Homeless homicides put dangers in focus
The killings of at least four homeless men in Broward County in the past month underscore a message well understood by both advocates and those who sleep on the streets: it can be dangerous out there.
“I try to keep my antenna up,” said longtime Broward resident Randy Richterkessing, 59, just out of the hospital after being beaten and robbed of his food stamps, ID and the $1.25 he had in his pocket.
But Richterkessing, who had several teeth knocked out during the attack, knows sometimes when you live on the streets it doesn’t matter how vigilant you are. “If someone wants to, they can come up behind you and wham,” he said.
The recent slayings, said Richterkessing, who works on boats as a marine technician, gave him “a spooky feeling,” he said.
Interviews with homeless this week indicate that only about half even knew that a man police call a serial killer is accused of committing three of the homeless homicides. Still, in what is known as National Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week, the fatal attacks serve to reinforce pleas from homeless advocates that men and women on the street accept available help.
“People need to take advantage of the opportunity to get off the street, get into shelters, even if for overnight, and make use of treatment programs,” said Lorraine Wilby, who heads the Task Force Fore Ending Homelessness, a non-profit ad- vocacy agency.
No officials have suggested that Broward’s chronic homeless community — estimates range from 2,300 to 4,000 — is being targeted. And the man suspected of being a serial killer responsible for three of the deaths is in custody.
But the recent violence has ratcheted up concerns among some on the street, prompting them to spend more time with others in large encampments, such as that at the Main Library in downtown Fort Lauderdale, or to acquire defensive weapons.
Paul Patterson, 51, who arrived in South Florida two weeks ago from Las Vegas, said he has been sleeping outside, often at construction sites.
He stays awake at night and
sleeps during the day, he said, “with something I can use as a weapon. A steel pipe is good.”
Fort Lauderdale Police Officer Sandi Downs-Keesling, a veteran of working with the city’s homeless, said the message remains the same: Living on the streets can be dangerous.
“People are not normally by themselves. But if I see someone alone, I tell them to make sure that somebody is around,” DownsKeesling said. ”People are staying at least in pairs.”
The deaths of three of the four men slain in October have been linked to Nathaniel Petgrave, 22, a suspected serial killer who is in custody and facing charges of premeditated murder.
In a fourth case, a homeless man who slept near a vacant building in the 1900 block of State Road 7, near Fort Lauderdale, was found beaten to death, according to Broward Sheriff’s deputies. A suspect has been charged in that case.
In what could be yet another homicide involving a homeless person, the body of Darren Butler, 27, was found Tuesday in a burning car in Bicentennial Park, 6100 Kimberly Blvd., North Lauderdale. BSO listed his address as “at large.”
Police reports indicated Butler has no permenent address, But his mother said he sometimes stayed with her.
Paul Junor, 58, shared a patch of woods in Plantation with Petgrave. After his arrest, Junor found nearby a freshly dug hole in the ground. Junor suspects it may have been a grave intended for him.
Shaken by his possible brush with death, Junor said he bought a machete to go along with the hunting knife and the black pellet pistol he already had.
Lauderhill Police Officer Shawn Keechle, who has worked as a homeless outreach specialist for three years, said he knows that some homeless have weapons for protection. “Knives, box cutters,” he said. “I have heard of firearms, but I have not seen them.”
While only a few among Broward’s homeless may be armed, most everyone takes precautions. Most everyone who has been on the street for any length of time has been the victim or crime or abuse.
Lilieth Comrie, 37, found herself homeless about the time she was hearing the news of the recent homicides of the men.
Although she keeps to herself, Comrie said she tries never to be completely alone. She spends time outside the library, or in the waiting room at Broward Health Medical Center.
“I was really scared when I heard [about the killings],” she said. “I don’t want to be sitting somewhere alone and have that happen to me.”