BATON ROUGE, La., Sept. 3 (UPI) -- An FBI partial profile of the serial killer wanted for the slayings of three Baton Rouge women was released Tuesday by police.
DNA evidence has linked the cases to the suspect, who is believed to be a man, 25 to 35 years of age, physically strong, and able to blend into the community, according to the behavior traits and characteristics developed by FBI profilers.
The killer apparently observed the victims enough to know where they lived and something about their behavior patterns, but made only "spot checks" rather than raise suspicion, said Mary Ann Godowa, a Baton Rouge police spokeswoman.
"Women who have been or will be questioned by investigators may not even think to mention this individual because he seems so harmless," she said. "The women he follows, watches, or interacts with may not even be aware of him because he 'blends in' with the community and his physical appearance is normal."
Godowa said the suspect, who is believed to be white or Hispanic, may come across as a "nice guy" who might have tried to "get a little too close to them too soon." She said he may have tried too hard to be helpful in an effort to get closer.
"This veneer of helplessness is his shield of protection from suspicion," she said.
Godowa also said that the suspect may have exhibited agitation during the past year at times that coincided with critical points in the investigation.
One time might have been when police announced July 10 that DNA evidence had linked the slayings.
"To those he knew he might have asked seemingly casual questions about the reliability of DNA analysis and how DNA is obtained," she said. "He would also make disparaging comments about law enforcement; for example, they were unable to solve these murders because whoever is responsible is too smart to get caught."
Finally, Godowa said, the suspect would be "very interested" in the release of the profile information, which was carried Tuesday at a news briefing on live television in Baton Rouge.
"While on the outside he may try to appear very disinterested, he will in fact feel very anxious that some of his own traits as identified by the FBI make him noticeable to others," she said.
A major homicide investigation was launched in Baton Rouge after the DNA evidence indicated that a serial killer was operating in the area. Since then, officers have examined scores of other unsolved murder cases to determine if the killer was responsible for any of them.
Tension has been high in Louisiana's capital city since the slayings began about a year ago with the murder of Gina Wilson Green, a 41-year-old nurse who was strangled in her apartment Sept. 24.
Charlotte Murray Pace, a 22-year-old graduate student at Louisiana State University, was stabbed to death in her townhouse May 31.
Pam Kinamore, a 44-year-old antique store owner, was found with her throat cut in a roadside ditch near Baton Rouge on July 16. She had been abducted from her home four days earlier.
