Motel 6 in Hammond, Indiana, where a victim was found on Sunday. (Associated Press)
Gary:
The bodies of seven women were found in Indiana state over the weekend after a man's confession to one killing led police to the grisly discovery of the other bodies, including three in one abandoned house, authorities said today.
The discoveries began after a 43-year-old man allegedly confessed to killing a woman whose body was found Friday in an Indiana motel.
He then told investigators where more bodies could be found in abandoned homes in the nearby city of Gary, a deteriorating former steel town about 50 kilometers southeast of Chicago, police said.
Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson said today that the suspect is a sex offender from Texas.
Freeman-Wilson said authorities aren't certain how long the man has been in northwestern Indiana, although he does have a conviction for illegally entering a home in the area.
The mayor says she doesn't know whether more bodies might be found.
"We really don't know. When you're dealing with someone like this it's just hard to tell," she said.
Hammond police Lt Rich Hoyda said yesterday the man's name wasn't being released because he had not yet been formally charged.
He would not say when charges will be filed.
The bodies were found after Gary police followed up on information the man provided during questioning, Hoyda said yesterday.
Hoyda wouldn't comment on how the man knew the women, a possible motive or whether the man confessed to killing any of the other women.
The Lake County coroner's office identified the victim found about 9:30 pm Friday at the motel as 19-year-old Afrikka Hardy, and said she was strangled.
A second body was found on Saturday night in an abandoned home in Gary.
The coroner said family members identified her as 35-year-old Anith Jones, who had been missing since Oct 8.
Five other bodies were found yesterday in various homes around Gary, including two more in the same home where the body of Jones was found on Saturday, the coroner's office said today.
Autopsies are pending on the three women found in one house.
The causes of death were not specified for all the women found in Gary.
The discoveries began after a 43-year-old man allegedly confessed to killing a woman whose body was found Friday in an Indiana motel.
He then told investigators where more bodies could be found in abandoned homes in the nearby city of Gary, a deteriorating former steel town about 50 kilometers southeast of Chicago, police said.
Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson said today that the suspect is a sex offender from Texas.
Freeman-Wilson said authorities aren't certain how long the man has been in northwestern Indiana, although he does have a conviction for illegally entering a home in the area.
The mayor says she doesn't know whether more bodies might be found.
"We really don't know. When you're dealing with someone like this it's just hard to tell," she said.
Hammond police Lt Rich Hoyda said yesterday the man's name wasn't being released because he had not yet been formally charged.
He would not say when charges will be filed.
The bodies were found after Gary police followed up on information the man provided during questioning, Hoyda said yesterday.
Hoyda wouldn't comment on how the man knew the women, a possible motive or whether the man confessed to killing any of the other women.
The Lake County coroner's office identified the victim found about 9:30 pm Friday at the motel as 19-year-old Afrikka Hardy, and said she was strangled.
A second body was found on Saturday night in an abandoned home in Gary.
The coroner said family members identified her as 35-year-old Anith Jones, who had been missing since Oct 8.
Five other bodies were found yesterday in various homes around Gary, including two more in the same home where the body of Jones was found on Saturday, the coroner's office said today.
Autopsies are pending on the three women found in one house.
The causes of death were not specified for all the women found in Gary.
