More DNA tests sought in search for killer

LAFAYETTE, La., Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Authorities next week will ask another 50 to 100 men to voluntarily submit DNA samples to help in the investigation into a serial killer who has slain four women in the past 14 months in south Louisiana.

Police want to compare the samples to the DNA of a man who has been linked through the testing to the slayings of three women in Baton Rouge and most recently the beating death of a woman last month near Lafayette.

Samples have been voluntarily submitted by about 800 men at Baton Rouge and 600 of those individuals have been eliminated as possible suspects, Baton Rouge Police Chief Pat Englade said Monday. Test results are pending in the other cases.

Another 50 to 100 men in the Lafayette area will be asked for samples next week, Lafayette Parish Sheriff Mike Neustrom said. If the men refuse to volunteer the DNA sample, a court order will be sought, he said.

The men were selected because of information received on a crime hotline since the slaying of 23-year-old Trineisha Dene Colomb was linked to the serial killer last week. A rabbit hunter found her body Nov. 24 at Scott, a small town near Lafayette.

It was the first time a slaying outside of Baton Rouge had been linked to the killer. Gina Wilson Green, 41; Charlotte Murray Pace, 22; and Pam Kinamore, 44, were killed in Baton Rouge.

A new FBI profile indicates the killer took risks to transport Colomb to the wooded area where her body was found and that he was familiar with the area. The killer is believed to be a white male, about 30 years old, who follows women and gains their trust.

Police believe a tip from the public may eventually lead them to the killer.

"We're asking for more community input, more citizen involvement," Neustrom said. "When in doubt, call. That's the way this case will be solved. It will be someone who knows who this person is."

Neustrom said his office has received about 400 tips since the Colomb slaying was linked to the serial killer. He encouraged anyone with information they think is relevant to call his office without trying to judge its value on their own.