California slayings ‘related,’ may be the work of a serial killer

Five recent slayings in Stockton, Calif. are all “related” and may be the work of a serial killer, police said Friday as they search for a person of interest in the late-night shootings.

According to the Stockton Police Department, the first of the five homicides being investigated happened on July 8. The next four happened over the following two months: on Aug. 11 and 30, and on Sept. 21 and. 27.

“These homicides occurred in the evening or early morning hours and our victims were alone,” Stockton Police Chief Stanley McFadden said Friday in a news release.

All five incidents were described as shooting deaths. Only the first victim was identified as a white man. The other four were identified as Hispanic men. All victims ranged in age from 21 to 54.

“It’s just people caught by surprise,” McFadden told reporters during a news conference Friday.

“It wasn’t a robbery, items aren’t being stolen and they’re not talking about any gang activity in the area or anything,” he added.

“By definition, you could probably very well call this a serial killer, right,” he said. “But at this time, we don’t know if it’s a person, two or three. We just don’t know.”

Stockton Police Department released an image of a person of interest in the cases.

When a reporter with local television station KOVR-TV asked for clarification on the use of the term “serial killer,” McFadden responded that the killings do meet the definition of the term.

However, investigators are still trying to determine if one or more people might be involved.

McFadden said that investigators reviewed “many hours of video surveillance” before releasing a photo of the “person of interest.”

The City of Stockton is offering a $75,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest in the case, City Manager Harry Black said Friday.

“Stockton Crime Stoppers will also pay a $10,000 cash reward,” McFadden said. “Both rewards total $85,000.”

Anyone with information is asked to call (209) 937-8167, send an email to policetips@stocktonca.gov, or upload video surveillance to the police’s evidence submission portal.

Anonymous information can be submitted to Stockton Crime Stoppers at (209) 946-0600 or to stocktoncrimestoppers.org