Man shot by prostitute may be linked to killings
CHARLESTON, W.VA. — An Oregon man toting axes, a shovel and bleach when he was killed by an escort he met online in West Virginia may be linked to numerous unsolved disappearances or slayings of women, authorities said, after learning he had been stopped, interviewed or investigated by police in at least 20 states.
West Virginia authorities are circulating information to see if Neal Falls can be linked to any other crimes against women in the U.S.
Charleston police say Falls, of Springfield, Ore., was fatally shot July 18 when a prostitute he was choking grabbed his handgun off the ground and fired it.
Investigators later found items in Falls’ car — axes, knives, handcuffs, a shovel and bleach — that raised suspicions this wasn’t the first time he had attacked a woman.
“The fact that he was 45 years old and carrying tools like he was, and committing a crime that was so organized and so violent, it’s unlikely that this was his first violent crime,” said Lt. Steve Cooper.
Cooper said Falls had a list of 10 other women in his pocket. Nine were in West Virginia and one was in San Diego. All were escorts active online, he said, and all are still alive. The Charleston woman, whom police are calling Heather, had a sep- arated shoulder, broken vertebrae, strangulation marks around her throat and other injuries.
So far no history of major crimes has surfaced in Falls’ record. However, police said records do show that authorities in as many as 20 states — including Arizona, Kentucky and Virginia — had interactions with Falls, such as stopping him, running his car’s licence plate or checking his federal Social Security number.
Charleston police have notified southern Nevada authorities, who said they are investigating Falls’ possible involvement in a series of killings long believed to be connected. Police have said Falls rented a room in the Las Vegas suburb of Henderson when four prostitutes went missing in the area.
Police have also been communicating with authorities in Chillicothe, Ohio, where four women died in suspicious circumstances and two others are missing. Cooper said there has been no evidence yet placing Falls there, but it’s less than a twohour drive from West Virginia.