Abortion Doctor Gunned Down at Kansas Church

Dr. George Tiller, a Wichita, Kansas abortion doctor, who remained one of the nation's few providers of late-term abortions despite decades of protests and attacks, was shot and killed today in a church where he was serving as an usher.

The gunman fled, but was aprrehended some 170 miles away in Kansas City about three hours later.

Tiller, 67, had long been a focus of national anti-abortion groups, including a summer-long protest in 1991. Tiller was shot in the foyer of Reformation Luthern Church just after 10:00 am. His wife, Jeanne, was in the choir at the time.

The gunman, 51-year-old Scott Roeder, was stopped on Interstate 35 and taken into custody by Johnson County sheriff's deputies about three hours after he shot and killed Tiller.

The Wichita Police Department had earlier reported the gunman as a 51-year-old man from Merriam, Kan., but refused to identify him by name. FOX4 KC Exclusive Video

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Abortion Doctor Gunned Down at Kansas Church, Suspect in Custody - FOXNews.com
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Police stop ambulance transporting patient, choke EMT

Cell phone video shows Oklahoma State Troopers choking EMT trying to transport patient

Oklahoma Highway Patrol stopped an ambulance transporting a patient to the hospital, choked one of the EMT's and threatened him with arrest. The incident was captured on video.

The incident occurred on Highway 62 near Boley in Okfuskee County, Oklahoma.

The video begins with the patient's son, Mr. Kenyada Davis, saying "highway patrol have pulled my mom's ambulance over because he's mad we didn't pull over."

The troopers were responding to a call of their own and were evidently annoyed that the ambulance did not yield and give way to them on the road.

"He's trying to arrest the EMT," Davis says in the video.

The video then shows one of the troopers pointing at the EMT and yelling, "you are under arrest, you are under arrest."

As the patient begins to scream inside the ambulance, the EMT, Maurice White, Jr., tries to explain that he is trying to get to the hospital.

As he raises a hand in gesture, one of the troopers is seen to grab White in an attempt to put him in an arm lock and cuff him. White resists and a scuffle breaks out. White attempts to get back into the ambulance, at which point the trooper grabs White by the throat and chokes him.

The troopers relent and return to their vehicles.

Watch the video here

White gave a statement in which he explains how he told the trooper he had a patient in the ambulance and that they were on their way to the hospital.

"The trooper ignored me, became even more belligerent, and demanded my partner come to his patrol car so he could write him a ticket," White says. "I calmly told the trooper that we were transporting a patient and we could continue this at the hospital."

White also writes that the trooper told him they could continue on to the hospital, but that he would be under arrest once they arrived. White was not arrested, but says the troopers told him he should be prepared to turn himself in if a warrant is issued.

Paul Franks, the driver of the ambulance, has also provided a written statement.

According to news reports, the troopers claim that the EMT assaulted one of them before the camera started rolling.

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol have not commented on the video.

The patient was treated at the hospital and was released later the same day.
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Ponzi Scams Unraveling With Economy

In January, with the economy tanking and Bernard Madoff's $65 billion scam unraveling, Bruce Kramer met a nervous investor for lunch at Hawthorne's Pizzeria in Mint Hill in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The investor, a Charlotte consultant who had invested several hundred thousand dollars with Kramer's foreign currency exchange firm in Cabarrus County, wondered if the money was safe. Kramer assured him it was, recalled the investor.

Kramer then thanked him for lunch and drove off in a new $90,000 Maserati.

A month later, Kramer shot himself to death. Court documents allege he swindled $40 million from 80 clients and spent much of it on luxury cars, a racehorse, art and extravagant parties.

Following the headline-grabbing Madoff case and stock market meltdown, authorities say they're investigating a growing number of investment-fraud cases and finding common threads.

The scammers usually live large, spending millions on sports cars, sprawling homes and lavish lifestyles. They target members of the same community, church or ethnic group.

The schemes thrive on investors' greed, promising rates of return of 18-20 percent or higher. More recently, they've capitalized on fear, too, luring investors who wanted out of the volatile stock market.

As the economy has slumped, investors have increasingly withdrawn their savings or declined to invest at all, leading to the collapse of a growing number of Ponzi schemes, which rely on the funds of later investors to pay initial investors high returns.

Brian Blackwell

Memorial Day final honor

FORT LOGAN, Colo. - The sun stood just shy of noon when Morris Smith said a few heartfelt words in an open-air chapel at Fort Logan National Cemetery and then uttered a simple order:

"Commander of the rifle squad, render the honors."

Seven vintage M1 Garand rifles were aimed skyward, and three volleys cracked across the cemetery's 214 acres. Joseph Wisneski, a World War II Navy veteran who died May 5 at age 91, had his 21-gun salute.

It came courtesy of the All Veterans Honor Guard, an area group that offers a final salute to deceased vets whose families request their services. The volunteers do this for free. Their remuneration is bankable only in the heart.

"Our payment for what we do in this noble cause is the thanks you get from the families of the person you do this for," said Smith, the honor guard's commander and a 23-year Air Force veteran. "They come up and shake your hand, and sometimes they can hardly let go of you."

Last year, the honor guard's six teams performed 779 ceremonies at Fort Logan. Smith's squad handled 231 of them; this year they are on pace for 350, including duties today, Memorial Day.

Tuesday's service for Wisneski was one of three the team performed at Fort Logan that day.

"We cover as many requests as we can," says Smith, who earned a Distinguished Flying Cross in Vietnam as a crew member on an AC-130 Spectra gunship. "Once in a blue moon we'll have to turn one down, but that's usually because it's a last-minute request that conflicts with a ceremony already scheduled."

Any honorably discharged veteran is eligible to join the team or receive its service. Some ceremonies are held at the deceased's funeral; often it's a simpler memorial service.

The team works year-round. In the wake of the December 2006 blizzard, they made it to services when snow was piled higher than the cemetary's 76,000 white gravestones.

The men dress in creased gray slacks, crisp white shirts and dark blazers. Their gleaming black shoes would make a drill instructor proud. They enjoy an easy banter with one another, the kind you often see among retirees, but they are strictly military when the procession of family arrives at the cemetery.

At 84, Gilbert Herrera is the oldest member of All Veterans Honor Guard. He joined 10 years ago and also belongs to American Legion Post 193.

"These men and women who served our country, we can't have people forget their sacrifice," Herrera said.

The Lakewood resident could have been talking about himself, although he is too modest for that. Herrera served in the Army's 17th Airborne Division during World War II. He fought in Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge and came home with a Bronze Star.

The volunteers feel a special affinity for WW II veterans, who are dying at a rate of about 1,100 a day, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

"The satisfaction on a personal level is that we know we're doing a much-needed service for the deceased and their families," said Rich Richardson, a retired Air Force master sergeant. "We've all lost loved ones and know what it means to see them get recognition.

"When you hear taps, the tears come. It;s from the bottom of your heart."

Joe Pettrow, a Navy veteran, is the squad's bugler. His buddies call him "Liperace."

"I learned to bugle in the Boy Scouts, but the first time I did it here I was scared stiff," he says.

Showered with gratitude

The honor-guard ceremony typically features a 12-member team. Smith speaks to the mourners about honor and sacrifice. Chaplain Chris Nielsen says a prayer. Then a seven-man detail fires the 21-gun salute - three volleys of blank ammunition - with M1 rifles.

After Joseph Wisneski's service, Herrera stooped to pick up the .30-caliber brass casings from the grass. He handed them to Wisneski's widow and daughters as mementos.

Judith Wisneski cradled an American flag in her arms and talked about her dad and the strangers who came to honor him.

"It brought a lot of dignity to my father's last ceremony," she said. "I thought it was fantastic and very emotionally moving. It really helped connect me to that part of him that served our country."

Her sister, Carolyn Wisneski, clutched a handful of shell casings, fired from the same type of rifle her father trained on in boot camp more than 65 years ago. "We were so touched and have so much gratitude for these men and the time they gave to my father and so many others," she said.

"It's our privilege," said honor-guard members.

"I believe that anyone who raises their right hand and vows to defend their country has essentially said they'll take a bullet for you, says honor-guard member Bill Baker, who spent 20 1/2 years in the Marine Corps. "It's an honor to honor these people in this way." Denver Post

D. Brian Blackwell

Army veteran

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Memorial Day message

Honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice

Please have a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day weekend, but remember why we have Memorial Day - to honor members of the U.S. armed forces killed in war.

D. Brian Blackwell
Former, U.S. Army sergeant
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New law requires DNA tests in felony arrests

A women whose daughter was raped and murdered in New Mexico says a new Colorado law requiring anyone arrested for a felony to submit a DNA sample will solve some crimes and prevent others.

"This is a happy day. This is a wonderful day," said Jayann Sepich, who has campaigned across the nation for similar laws. "The true blessing is we will not know the names of the victims who will be saved. We will not know who they are."

Gov. Bill Ritter signed the law Thursday. It's called Katie's Law after 22-year-old Katie Sepich, who was raped and murdered in 2003. Her killer was captured using DNA.

Since her death, 21 states have implemented laws requiring DNA samples from some suspects.

Gov. Ritter, a former Denver district attorney, said hundreds of suspects have been arrested and more than 200 wrongfully imprisoned inmates have been set free because of DNA evidence in states that have passed similar laws.

Addressing critics who called the bill an invasion of privacy, Colorado Attorney General John Suthers said people who have been arrested have been forced to provide their fingerprints for decades. He said convicted felons have been required to provide DNA for years, and those records have been used only for law-enforcement purposes.

According to current Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey, three killings and 18 sexual assaults, along with a host of other violent felonies, could have been prevented in Denver since 1989 if such testing was allowed.

Morrissey says five suspects in those crimes had been arrested in earlier felonies, and a DNA sample requirement might have put them in prison before the later crimes were committed.

Under Colorado's new law, DNA will be taken from those arrested for felonies through a cheek swab, by reasonable force if necessary, and then sent to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation for testing and entrance into the state database. Those not charged within 90 days can ask for their DNA records to be removed for entrance into the database.

As an added protection, Republicans and some Democratic lawmakers added a requirement that the state pay $25,000 to anyone whose DNA record was not expunged upon request. A $2.50 charge will be added to all felony and misdemeanor convictions and traffic tickets to pay for the testing.

Samples from those accused of felonies will be collected starting Oct. 1, 2010.

While federal appellate courts and state records have held that DNA samples are like fingerprints, Morgan Carroll, a trial lawyer and Democratic lawmaker from Aurora who opposed the bill, says the matter is far from settled.

She cited a 1989 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that there is a reasonable expectation of privacy when it comes to bodily fluids such as blood, urine and saliva. The high court in the 1960's ruled that fingerprints are "knowingly exposed" to the public and therefore don't present an intrusion.

"If they follow their own precedent, I think this law is going to get stricken down," Carroll said.

The Congressional Research Service, a nonpartisan research arm for members of Congress, noted in a report in January that challenges could also be raised if scientists discover uses for parts of DNA currently believed to contain no useful medical or biological information.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced last year that all federal law enforcement agencies would collect DNA from all detainees.

Florida, Alambama and Missouri also passed laws this year requiring DNA samples from suspects in felony cases.

Similar laws are on the books in Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Kansas, Lousinana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and Virginia.

The first systematic use of fingerprints in the U.S. for criminals was started in 1904 by the New York State Prison system, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.

Read more and see video at: 9News.com
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US Spends $178,000 to Study Thailand Prostitutes

Your Tax Dollars At Work

The federal government is spending $178,000 to better understand why drug-abusing prostitutes in Thailand are at greater risk for HIV infection, an endeavor that taxpayer watchdogs are calling a huge waste of American taxpayers' money.

The National Institutes of Health study, "Substance Use and HIV Risk among Thai Women," is looking at the interplay of personal and cultural factors that put Thai prostitutes at special risk.

But women aren't its only target. The two-year project, made possible by...

NIH Spends $178,000 to Study Why Prostitutes in Thailand Have High HIV Risk - Presidential Politics Political News - FOXNews.com

Read also U.S. to pay $2.6 million to train Chinese prostitutes to drink responsibly on the job

4 Americans murdered in Tijuana Mexico

The bodies of two men and two women, showing "signs of violence," were found over the weekend in a car. It's believed to be drug-related.

Four U.S. citizens from southern California were found dead in Tijuana, Mexico Saturday, their bodies showing "signs of violence," according to U.S. and Mexican authorities.

The two men and two women were found inside a car Saturday but their identities were not confirmed until Thursday. Their bodies were covered with blankets and had several wounds, the state prosecutor's office for Baja California said.

The U.S. Consulate in Tijuana has confirmed the identities of the victims as 21-year-old Luis Games Chavez, 23-year-old Oscar J. Garcia III, 19-year-old Brianna Hernandez Aguilera and 20-year-old Carmen Ramos Chavez. All were U.S. citizens and southern California residents, according to the U.S. Consulate. Mexican authorities listed Ramos Chavez as a Mexican citizen.

The deaths are under investigation, but U.S. and Mexican authorities believe it is drug related. No suspects are in custody.

Tijuana is one of Mexico's most violent border cities. Two weeks ago, seven police officers were killed in a single day in Tijuana in a series of brazen attacks by drug cartels. Thousands have died in drug-related violence in Mexico.

All Reports on the Mexican Drug War

D. Brian Blackwell

U.S. to Pay $2.6M to Train Chinese Prostitutes

The National Institute of Alcohol Abuses and Alcoholism (NIAA), a part of the National Institutes of Health NIH, is going to pay $2.6 million in U.S. tax dollars to train Chinese prostitutes to drink responsibly on the job.

Dr. Xiaoming Li, the researcher conducting the program, is director of the Prevention Research Center at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit, Michigan.

The grant, made last November, refers to prostitutes as "female sex workers" - or FSW - and their handlers as "gatekeepers."

"Previous studies in Asia and Africa and our own data from FSW's [female sex workers] in China suggest that the social norms and institutional policy within commercial sex venues as well as agents overseeing the FSW's (i.e., the 'gatekeepers' defined as persons who manage the establishments and/or sex workers) are potentially of great importance in influencing alcohol use and sexual behavior among establishment-based FSW's," says the NIH grant abstract submitted by Dr. Li.

"Therefore, in this application, we purpose to develop. implement, and evaluate a venue-based alcohol use and HIV risk reduction intervention focusing on both environmental and individual factors among venue-based FSW's in China," says the abstract.

The research will take place in the southern Chinese provinces, which is a place where the sex business is pervasive, says Dr. Li.

"The purpose of the project is to try and develope an intervention program targeting HIV risk and alcohol use," says Dr. Li. "So basically, it's an alcohol and HIV risk reduction intervention project."

The researcher outlined three components of the intervention program in the abstract for the project:

"(1) gatekeeper training with a focus on changing or enhancing the protective social norms and policy/practice at the establishment level; (2) FSW (female sex workers) training with a focus on the acquisition of communication skills (negotiating, limit setting, learning English) and behavioral skills (e.g., condom use skills, consistent condom use); and (3) semi-annual boosters to reinforce social norms within establishments and individual skills," wrote Dr. Li.

Dr. Li says the heart of the study involves " a community-based cluster randomized controlled trial among 100 commercial sex venues in Beihai, a costal tourist city in Guangxi."

"We anticipate that the venue-based intervention program will be culturally appropriate, feesible, effective and sustainable in alcohol use and sexual risk reduction among FSW's," says the NIH grant abstract.

Dr. Li says his study is being done in China rather than the U.S. because prostitution occurs with alcohol use in the U.S. like it does in China and Americans will be able to benefit from the project's findings.

"We want to get some understanding of the fundamental role of alcohol use and HIV risk," he said. "We use the population in China as our targeted population to look at the basic issues. I think the findings will benefit the American people, too."

Dr. Li says minimal research has been conducted on the link between alcohol use and prostitution as it relates to HIV.

"Alcohol has been a part of the commerce of sex for many, many years," says Dr. Li.

No kidding, Doc [said sarcastically]? I think everyone knows that alcohol is a part of the sex industry, and people who drink too much tend to lose their ability to use good judgment and do foolish things.

"Unfortunately, both global-wise and in the U.S., very few researchers are looking at the complex issue of the inter play between alcohol and the commerce of sex," says Dr. Li.

Complex issue? People drink alcohol, they get horny, and when people drink too much they tend to lose their ability to use good judgment. What's so complex about that?

The grant is one of several 'international initiatives' sponsored by the National Institutes of Health.

Ralph Hingson, director of epidemiology and prevention research at NIAA, says, "There are many Americans who travel to China (horny American businessmen) each year and they should be made aware of the HIV problem."

How can anyone not know about HIV and its causes and risks in this day and age?

Hingson says "Americans will be able to apply the studies findings to the American situation because 1.2 million Americans are currently living with HIV.

Dr. Li's research includes exploration, development, implementation and evaluation. Currently, the project stands at the exploration stage, which the doctor expects to last 18 months.

"The first phase is kind of an exploratory study just trying to get a good understanding of the phenomena in the population of female sex workers in China. The second phase is the program development," says Dr. Li.

Phase two will be based on the first year of the study and on "field observations," says Dr. Li. The third phase will be the implementation and evaluation of the program.

Translation: The first phase will be an exploratory study to determine why the hundreds of middle-age, bald, overweight American businessmen that travel to China on business each year seek out young, pretty Chinese women to have sex with and why this has caused the number of young, pretty female sex workers to increase every year in China, and why the consumption of alcohol tends to lead to sex. The second phase will be to develop and implement a program to combat such urges. (Good luck on the second phase.)

We need a research study for this? The U.S. government needs to spend $ 2.6 million of our money on this?

"Prostitution is illegal in China but it still exists in China," says Dr. Li.

How very astute of you, Dr. Li. Prostitution exists even though it's illegal. How brilliant of you to figure that out, Dr. Li. You must be some kind of genius.

According to Dr. Li, there may be as many as 10 million female prostitutes in China with the majority raging from teenagers to those in their 20's.

There is a lot of governmental initiatives already in use in China to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS, like 100 percent condom distribution programs. Condoms are delivered to all prostitution venues on a regular basis. And prostitutes are already taught the importance of consistent condom use.

"The global literature indicates an important role of alcohol use in facilitating HIV/AIDS transmission risk in commercial sex venues where elevated alcohol use/abuse and sexual risk behaviors frequently co-occur," Dr. Li wrote when introducing the project last November.

Yeah, drinking alcohol makes people horny and the more they drink the more likely they are to lose their ability to use good judgment and do foolish things.

The NIH proposal hypothesizes that the program will decrease "alcohol-related sexual risk" among prostitutes.

No one can teach a person to not drink too much, which is essentially what this program is going to attempt to do. The only way to make sure someone doesn't drink too much is to stop giving them alcohol. It doesn't take a rocket scientist - nor Dr. Li and his research team - to figure that out. Prostitutes in China are already taught the importance of consistent condom use. An adequate supply of condoms are given to prostitutes for free by the government on a regular basis. So why do we need to spent $2.6 million on Dr. Li's program. Answer: We don't. 

Brian Blackwell

Federal prosecutor admits withholding evidence

A federal prosecutor Tuesday acknowledged that she withheld evidence that could have helped clear a defendant in a gun case but said it was an inadvertent mistake and implored the chief judge of the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts not to impose sanctions that could derail her career. MORE

Accused of sexual abuse, but back in the classroom

Repeat molesters put back in the classroom

Los Angeles Unified School District failed to follow up on complaints once police or prosecutors dropped criminal actions, leaving students vulnerable to molesters.

A jury late last year ordered the L.A. Unified School District to pay nearly $1.6 million to the families of three girls molested by Ricardo Guevara, who is now serving 15 years in prison for lewd acts with a child.

But there was something the jury - and the public - was never told: This was the third set of accusations that Guevara had molested students. Twice before, when prosecutors had decided they lacked enough evidence to win a criminal conviction, L.A. Unified officials quietly put Guevara back in the classroom.

Guevara's case fits a pattern, a Los Angeles Times investigation shows: Repeatedly, L.A. Unified School District failed to follow up on sexual misconduct complaints against teachers, once prosecutors dropped criminal actions. Some ended up at new schools. In at least one instance - involving Guevara - the new principle had no idea of his history. MORE

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Nation's first face transplant patient shows face

Nation's first face transplant patient shows face Boston.com

Texas Officials: First U.S. Resident Dies From Swine Flu - Infectious Disease

FOXNews.com - Texas Officials: First U.S. Resident Dies From Swine Flu - Infectious Disease

Dan Zamlen Drowning, Smiley Face Victim?

The body was found Friday in the river near the Ford Motor Company plant. That's down river from the area where Zamlen disappeared.

Daniel Zamlen

Police in Saint Paul, Minn. have identified a body pulled from the Mississippi River as that of missing University of St. Thomas student Daniel Zamlen.

The freshman was last seen leaving a party by himself after an altercation at the party with another male in the early morning hours of April 5.

He had been drinking and was a type-one diabetic. His 19th birthday was on April 8.

Below are photos of the area where Zamlen disappeared. According to police reports and statements, Zamlen had been talking with a friend on his cell phone while walking home.

His friend asked Zamlen where he was and he told him he was at the corner of Mississippi River Boulevard and St. Clair Avenue. According to the friend, Zamlen said, "oh my god, oh my god." Then Zamlen's phone cut out.

Zamlen was in a residential neighborhood near the University of St. Thomas, next to a jogging/bike path that is on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River.

The jogging/bike path connects to the street corner where Zamlen said he was. The paved pathway is safely away from the edge of the cliff. There is about a seven story drop down to the swift current of the Mississippi River.

The path is wide enough for four or five people to stand side-by-side. The path looks close to the river, but it isn't. It's a very safe distance away from the cliff.

Maybe Zamlen accidentally got too close to the edge of the cliff, rolled down the seven story embankment and into the river , but it's highly unlikely.

It's highly unlikely because not only are there a lot of big trees to grab onto to stop yourself from getting close to the edge of the cliff and falling off, but there are also a lot of trees and bushes that would stand in your way down to the water from the top of the cliff.

Not to mention you'd have to roll another six to eight yards on the beach to get to the water as you can clearly see from the photo below.

There are a lot of trees and bushes all along the embankment to help stop someone from falling to the bottom.

The cliff isn't very steep. In most places the slope is only at about a 30 degree angle. Anyone, even someone who'd been drinking, would have easily been able to stop themselves before reaching the water if they slipped and fell down the cliff.

I went to the area and walked up and down the edge of the cliff several times looking for the spot Zamlen fell down the embankment. I found no evidence of anyone falling down the embankment.
 

If someone had fallen down the embankment, there would have been bushes smashed down and signs of someone sliding down the embankment. Neither were found.

Did Dan Zamlen accidentally drown or was he murdered? Was he a 'Smiley Face' victim?

Brian Blackwell

WHO expects to raise alert to highest level

Although the pace of new H1NI swine flu infections has seemingly slowed, with a total of 180 cases in the United States and 705 worldwide, World Health Organization officials say their alert level for infectious disease ultimately will be raised to its highest point.

WHO official expects to raise alert to the highest level - The Boston Globe

Swine flu cases reach 151 in U.S.

Flu cases reach 151 in U.S. - Los Angeles Times

New cases of H1N1 swine flu have been confirmed in Delaware, Illinois, Kentucky, South Carolina and Tennessee. Mexico reports 15 confirmed deaths from the virus and a total of 358 cases.
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LAPD ties 72-year-old man to wave of serial killings

DNA lead LAPD detectives to John Thomas Jr., 72. He is being held in two slayings, but police suspect he killed up to 30 elderly Westside and Claremont women a decade apart.

The first wave of slayings haunted Los Angeles in the mid-1970s. The killer slipped mostly unseen through the night, preying on older women who lived alone. He raped them and squeezed their necks until they passed out or died, then covered their faces with pillows and blankets.

The second wave hit a decade later in Claremont - five older women raped and strangled, faces again covered.

Even with at least 20 survivors, police never connected the two homicide-and-rape rampages nor solved either of them. The victims gave conflicting descriptions of the rapist, police in different jurisdictions didn't communicate with each other, and DNA technology had not come into use.

Now authorities say they have linked John Floyd Thomas Jr., a 72-year-old California insurance claims adjuster, who twice has been convicted of sexual assault, to five of the murders. Detectives also describe him as a suspect in up to 25 more based on the circumstances of those crimes.

If Thomas is found guilty, he will be Los Angeles' most prolific serial killer.

Thomas was arrested at his apartment in South Los Angeles last month and charged April 2 with murder in connection with the deaths of 68-year-old Ethel Sokoloff in the Mid-Wilshire area in 1972, and 67-year-old Elizabeth McKeon in Westchester in 1976.

Thomas' DNA matched evidence found at five murder scenes, spanning both crime waves - the two homicides he has been charged with, one in Lennox in 1975, one in Inglewood in 1976 and one in Claremont in 1986.

Police are analyzing evidence in 25 other killings they suspect might be linked to Thomas.

Thomas has been working as an insurance adjuster handling workers' compensation claims since 1989 - the year the killings stopped. California was aware of Thomas' criminal record when they hired him as an insurance adjuster.

More from Los Angeles Times
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