The Sope-Bocks has already uncovered a couple more names that may or may not be on detectives Gannon and Duarte's list: Robert Barrington Leigh (University of Toronto) and Scott Javins (University of Indiana). Both young men drowned under what some might consider suspicious circumstances -- their deaths attributed to drunken student accidents.
In fact, most of the cause of death reports have been officially ruled "undetermined" or "drowning". A few similarities may link all 40 deaths:
- Male
- Late teens or early 20's in age
- College student
- Good grades
- Ventured out alone
- Almost all are white
- Most were athletic
- Alcohol served to victim or at location where last seen
- And last, but not least, all were close to a body of water
I have also learned that Gannon & Duarte suspect the serial killers are either a gang or trying to manipulate evidence in order to look like a gang. Nicknames of gang members and at least once street name (Sinsiniwa) have also been found at multiple "drowning" sites.
While some folks are already writing the story off as mere speculation, I'm not prepared to do so just yet. There is one thing (thus far) that leads me to wonder whether any connection between the deaths exists -- serial killers are not gangs. If the cases are linked, there is at least one instance of two young men meeting their doom on the same night, in different cities. That would require at least two people -- maybe a minimum of four.
We're investigating and will continue to report as we learn more.
