Break needed in Florida serial killer case

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Feb. 3 (UPI) -- Police in Daytona Beach, Fla., say they need a break leading them to the individual responsible for killing four women since 2005.

Daytona Beach police Chief Mike Chitwood said that while detectives have been working tirelessly on the serial killer case, a major break will likely be needed to help track down the elusive perpetrator, the Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel reported Sunday.

"I have the utmost confidence in everything we're doing, but we need a break," Chitwood said. "That's what it's going to come down to."

Police have said the first three shooting victims all led "high-risk lifestyles," meaning they were prostitutes or regular drug users, and were all fatally shot in 2005 and 2006.

While the killer's most recent victim, 30-year-old Stacey Gage, did have drug charges in her past, she apparently had been attempting to live a normal, middle-class life.

"Many serial killers graduate from disreputable types like prostitutes … to victims who are middle class and more respectable in the community," serial killer expert Jack Levin said of the killer's potentially evolving trend.