At a news
conference on the afternoon of Friday, May 23, 2003,
the Baton Rouge area Multi-Agency Task Force released a
sketch of a man suspected in assaults on three St. Martin Parish
women. The suspect is described as a clean-cut, light-skinned black
male in his late twenties to early thirties, with short black hair
and brown eyes.
On July
9, 2002, the man attacked a 45-year-old Breaux Bridge woman in her
home. He wore jeans and a white shirt, and drove a gold Mitsubishi
Mirage. Although DNA testing of evidence was inconclusive, police
believe the assaults are related to the serial killer investigation.
The assailant
talked his way into the victims’ homes, asking to use a telephone
and phone book. He was described as friendly and non-threatening,
a muscular, good-looking guy. Once inside, he made small talk, eliciting
information about others who might live in the residence, or be
expected to arrive there. When he determined the women were alone,
and when he was reasonably assured he would not be interrupted,
he attacked.
Following
the homicide of Trineisha Dene Colomb in December
2002, police released their first sketch. Waxing Ashcroftian,
Chief Pat Englade referred to the composite as a person of interest
(POI), that nebulous area that is neither suspect nor witness, but
hints at being more of the former. The sketch appears nearly human,
and quite possibly male. He was seen in a white truck near where
Colomb disappeared.
Exhibit
three is the composite sketch of a black male suspected of two
armed robberies ten minutes apart in an LSU parking lot in the early
hours of September 14, 2002. No one was injured, and the man escaped
on foot. It is included here for three reasons. First, the incident
will serve as a lesson in less-than-rapid police response for the
next time a robber is holding you at gunpoint in an LSU parking
lot. Second, the sketch either resembles the St. Martin Parish suspect,
or it exposes hitherto unknown limitations in the software. And
third, if you know this man, the LSU police would like to hear from
you.
The final
exhibit is something of an historical artifact. On May 31, 2002,
Murray Pace was murdered in her Sharlo Avenue apartment. Early in
the investigation, Pace’s neighbors told police about a man
they had seen watching the victim’s apartment in the days and
hours preceding her murder. No composite sketch of this potential
person of interest (PPOI) was done. The four witnesses did however
work with a volunteer who, at her own expense, had purchased the
same software police use to develop their composites.
This sketch
was submitted to the Task Force, but was not released.
It quickly
developed a cult following, however, surfacing on a few car windshields,
and making a brief Internet appearance before being unceremoniously
relegated to the trash heap of underappreciated visual aids. It
is brought back by popular demand, and for your perusal.
Should any
of these exhibits strike your fancy, please do call one of the numbers
below.
LSU Police
-- 225-578-3231 (Exhibit 3 only)
Baton Rouge
Multi-Agency Task Force -- 1-866-389-3310 (All others)