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Lee Arrested In Atlanta
BATON ROUGE, La., 8:55 p.m. CDT May 27, 2003 - Serial killer suspect Derrick Todd Lee has been arrrested, Atlanta officials say.
Lee was picked up by the Atlanta Fugutive Squad Tuesday at about 8 p.m. on Banquette Highway.
As the list of possible victims grew to include one high-profile case involving the wife of a former state official, a nationwide manhunt was launched, with law enforcement paying special attention to a report that he is working in the Atlanta area.
In what they are calling a "significant development," sources told WDSU NewsChannel 6 reporter Helena Moreno that new information may connect Lee, 34, of St. Francisville, to the abduction of Mari Ann Fowler, the wife of former Louisiana Elections Commissioner Jerry Fowler.
Fowler, 65, disappeared Christmas Eve 2002, from the parking lot of a Port Allen sandwich shop. She has not been seen since.
Citing the ongoing investigation, sources would not release details about the possible lead.
Atlanta Connection Stumps Authorities
Lee was seen Monday afternoon at a motel in southeast Atlanta, where witnesses said he held barbecues and even invited people over for a Bible-study class, according to Georgia Marshal Richard Meechum.
Meechum said Lee's movements have been monitored since May 5, when he gave a DNA sample to police in Louisiana. Lee had been tracked to Chicago and Atlanta, where he is thought to be working as a day laborer -- possibly as a concrete finisher or in some other construction capacity.
Police in Atlanta said they think Lee's two children are with his wife, but an exact location was not given. They also talked about a conversation Lee allegedly had with his girlfriend, who then reported it to police.
"She said, 'I think that they know that you're the one who has killed the women here in Louisiana,'" Meechum said, "at which point he abruptly ended the conversation, hung up the telephone and left."
Officials in Atlanta said Lee has been in that city twice, most recently in the past few days. Meechum said Lee is traveling by bus and last was spotted downtown. They do not know what his connection is to the area, but officials are urging anyone with information on his whereabouts to call the Georgia Bureau of Investigation at (800) 597-TIPS (8477).
At a news conference Tuesday in St. Francisville, West Feliciana Parish Sheriff Austin Daniel issued a statement directly to Lee.
"I met with your mother this morning," Daniel said. "For the sake of her health, she has asked me to ask you to please turn yourself in."
Police issued a murder warrant Monday for Lee after officials linked his DNA to one of five deaths in Baton Rouge and Lafayette.
According to the warrant, DNA tests connect Lee to the killing of Louisiana State University graduate student Carrie Yoder, whose body was found in March near Whiskey Bay. The same DNA was found on four other murdered women: Gina Green, Murray Pace, Pam Kinamore and Dene Colomb.
The FBI also issued a warrant for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. Police released a photo of Lee and asked the public to help locate him.
List Of Possible Vicitms Grows
Police obtained Lee's DNA because they were investigating him for an unconnected disappearance in the Baton Rouge suburb of Zachary.
Zachary Police Chief Joey Watson said a recent tip about the disappearance of Randi Mebruer, who vanished from her home in April 1998, combined with a review of Lee's criminal history, led police to ask Lee for a DNA sample.
Watson said a detective in neighboring East Feliciana Parish received a tip from one of Lee's relatives, who said Lee was discussing the Mebruer case. Watson said that tip was passed along to the state Attorney General's Office, which obtained the court order for Lee's DNA.
He said Zachary police also suspect Lee is connected to the murder of Connie Warner, who was found dead in September 1992.
Those cases have not been linked to the serial killer, but Watson believes they all are connected. Watson said DNA evidence found in the Mebruer case is still being tested.
But the list of possible victims doesn't end with the Zachary murders. Louisiana Attorney General Richard Ieyoub said Tuesday that his office is now working with police in West Baton Rouge Parish on two more unsolved cases: the January 2002 murder of Geralyn Desoto and the abduction of Fowler.
Baton Rouge Police Chief Pat Englade says Lee is to be considered armed and dangerous.
Lee has an arrest record dating back to the late 1980s for offenses that include battery, stalking and peeping.
He was described as a light-skinned black male, 6 feet 1 inch tall and 210 pounds, clean-shaven with short hair or perhaps a shaved head, and a muscular build. Police say they don't know what type of vehicle Lee drove.
Victim's Mother Speaks Out On 'Today'
Meanwhile, the serial killer investigation is garnering national attention.
At the forefront is Lynne Marino, the mother of victim Pam Kinamore. Marino appeared Tuesday on NBC's "Today" show to talk about whether she thinks Lee will be found.
"He will be apprehended with Pam's intervention," Marino said. "People realize the crimes he's committed, and I dedicate myself now to the search for him. We're going to hunt him down and search for him like he searched for his victims."
Marino also told NBC's Katie Couric that she's angry and frustrated with what she thinks was shoddy police work.
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