Milwaukee Serial Killer Caught

BadgerBlogger is reporting that the Milwaukee Police Department has arrested 49 year old Walter Ellis in connection with a string of Milwaukee killings dating back to the mid 1980's. [JSOnline confirms the report.]



I wrote about the case of the so-called "North Side Strangler" and his seven victims twice. Keep in mind MPD didn't hunt him for twenty years. It was only recently that DNA linked cold cases and revealed the pattern. Some additional good came of it too; as they continued to look for more victims other cases were solved by running the same evidence.

A press conference is scheduled for this evening. Good job MPD!

Update on Milwaukee Serial Killer: 7th Victim Identified

Milwaukee police have confirmed that DNA tests have tied a seventh victim to the serial killer they're hunting. Remember, two dozen additional samples are being tested and more victims may be identified in the coming days.

Florence McCormick, a slain prostitute who was found dead April 24, 1995 on
Milwaukee's north side.
McCormick's body was found inside a vacant home on
the city's north side in the 600 block of W. Locust Ave., police said at the
time the body was discovered

Milwaukee Police: Seeking info on suspected serial killer

The Milwaukee Police Department has announced that they are seeking a serial killer suspected of killing six or more women over a 21 year period. DNA found on all six victims match that of the unknown suspect. Additionally, more than two dozen more samples are being examined in cases involving other potential victims.

It should be noted that the killer does not appear in any law enforcement DNA database, which means he has avoided conviction in Wisconsin since at least 1996, and avoided conviction for sexual assault in Wisconsin since 1994. In other words, he has managed to slip under the radar for decades, possibly living an ordinary day-to-day existence. Frightening, to say the least.

The information below is from JSOnline. Anyone with information related to the women below should of course contact the MPD immediately.

The victims include:

Deborah L. Harris, 31, was found on Oct. 10, 1986. in the Menominee River about 100' east of the Ember Lane Bridge, tied with a clove hitch knot.

Tanya L. Miller, 19, was found strangled on Oct. 11, 1986, between a house and garage in the 2100 block of N. 28th St.. She was fully clothed but wearing no shoes. Her socks were clean, leading police to believe her body was moved from the spot of her death. She was last seen around 10:30 p.m. on the day before, talking with friends on a street corner.

Sheila Farrior, 37, a mother of five, was found June 27, 1995 in the bedroom of a vacant home on the 1400 block of W. Chambers St. by the building's owner, who went there to inspect remodeling work.

Jessica Payne, 16, ran away from home shortly before she would have started junior year at South Milwaukee High School. She was found Aug. 30, 1995 behind a vacant house at N. 7th and W. Chambers streets. Chaunte D. Ott was convicted of her homicide and sentenced to life in prison after a man told police Ott had confessed to killing Payne during an attempted robbery. In January, Ott was released from prison after DNA linked Payne's death with that of two other women.Payne's killing does not fit the profile of the others, police said.

Joyce Mims, 41, was found by workers renovating a vacant house on the 2900 block of N. 5th St. on June 20, 1997. She had been strangled. Mims was last seen by family members walking away from her home two days before her body was found. She had a son.

Ouithreaun Stokes, 28, was found by a city inspector and two other people on April 27, 2007 at a boarded-up building that had previously served as a rooming house. She was 28.