PEORIA, Ill., Nov. 18 (UPI) -- Peoria, Ill., residents fear a serial killer is preying on black, crack-addicted prostitutes after six bodies were found.
The bodies of four black women, either drug addicts or prostitutes, have been dumped on the outskirts of town this year, and four other women have been reported missing, the latest, 29-year-old Tamara Walls, the Chicago Tribune reported.
The sheriffs' departments in Peoria and Tazewell counties, in addition to the Peoria City Police Department, have offered a reward of $20,000 for information leading to the arrest or conviction of anyone involved in the killings. They have been reluctant to officially conclude the acts are the work of a single serial killer until DNA evidence is found to link them.
All of the victims had traces of crack in their systems and appeared to have died without a struggle.
"It probably is a serial killer, but there are these dissimilarities we can't just put aside," said Peoria County Sheriff Michael D. McCoy.
Two other area prostitutes were found dumped in rural areas surrounding the town 175 miles southwest of Chicago in 2001 and 2003.
