Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page 6

6A THE DETROIT NEWS SUNDAY, AUGUST 23, 1992 highind Vark 3 Debbie Ann Patricia Vn Cannon d) Geor9e' 36 Detroit officers lead Benjamin Atkins to his arraignment in 36th District Court Saturday. Atkins, 23, of Highland Park, was charged with the deaths of three women, one in Highland Park and two in Detroit. He was ordered held without bond pending a Sept. 2 hearing. PERFECT DIAMONDS BEGIN WITH 20 TO 60 SAVINGS Buy Direct From New York Diamond Large Selection of Settings Financing Available Major Credit Cards Free Covered Parking By Appointment Only New York Diamond Cutting Company 3000 Town Center, Southfield, Ml Call flow For Your Appointment Monv A SMALL SAMPLING OF OlfLVKt Payments OUR VAST INVENTORY LOW PRICES AS LOW AS .95 Pear Shape $795 $20 1.04 ct.

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-i V'sv ja 1 1 CLARENCE ABB JR. The Detroit News Slayings: Drifter, 23, charged in 3 murders otadts MONDAY Ms. SIBLEY'S SIBLE SHOES AND FINAL SHOE CB.EAM-QUT! Unsolved murders The bodies of 1 1 women have been found along the Woodward corridor of Highland Park and Detroit since mid-December. At least nine were strangled. Their names and where they were found: Debbie Ann Friday, 31 Dec.

14, in an apartment building basement in the 100 block of Elmhurst, Highland Park. Bertha Mason, 26, Dec. 30, in a vacant home in the first block of Alger, Detroit. Patricia Cannon George, 36, Jan. 3, in an abandoned building on Kenil-worth, just off Woodward, Detroit.

Vickie Truelove, 39, Jan. 25, in an abandoned building in the 9500 block of Woodward, Detroit. Valerie Brown Chalk, 34, Juanita Hardy, 23, and an unidentified woman, Feb. 17, in the abandoned Monterey Motel, Highland Park. Brenda Mitchell, 38, April 9, in a vacant building in the 20 block of West Grand, Highland Park.

Her death previously was ruled a drug overdose. Found partially clothed and not bound. Vicki Marie Beasley-Brown, 43, April 15, in a vacant apartment building on Highland at Second, Highland Park. JoAnn O'Rourke, 40, June 15, in an abandoned building on Woodward, less than a block from the Monterey Motel, Highland Park. Unidentified woman, Aug.

21 in a vacant garage between Pasadena and West Grand near Woodward, Highland Park. From page 1A troit. Truelove was discovered Jan. 25 in an abandoned building in the 9500 block of Woodward, also in Detroit. All three women, along with eight others, were found in a 1.4-mile stretch between Highland Park and Detroit, near Woodward Avenue.

All were discovered in abandoned buildings and many were cocaine users, police said. Investigators would not identify the eight other women Atkins confessed to killing, but Highland Park Public Safety Director John Mattox said Atkins lured his victims with crack cocaine, often offering to pay them with it for sex. Atkins admitted to being a crack user, Mattox said, but police had no record of drug offenses. According to Department of Corrections records, Atkins had no felony record up to 1990. Subsequent records were unavailable on Saturday.

Police picked up Atkins, who was among several suspects in the slayings, off the street last Thursday after a woman claimed he tried to rape her a year ago. He was held on a misdemeanor warrant for trespassing. We've taken the remainder of our men's and women's sale shoes from all 42 stores and put them in one convenient location. Over 7,300 pairs of men's and women's nationally known brands of quality shoes to choose from-not all sizes in even style. On Friday, investigators found the decomposed body of a woman in an abandoned brick garage near Woodward in Highland Park.

Detectives refused to release any information on the body, and would not say whether the death was related to the others. After his arrest and police questioning, Atkins began a grisly narrative of the slayings, police said. Mattox said he was shocked by the matter-of-fact details. "Once it started to unravel, I couldn't believe it was happening so quickly," Mattox said. "This has been months and months of intensive work.

When we finally had him, it all seemed almost too easy." Dobson said more charges would follow once "we get through all the paperwork." Dobson would not say how many more murder charges Atkins could face, but that "he's linked to all of them." The nomadic Atkins, who police said lived in a number of abandoned homes and apartments in Metro Detroit, worked sporadically at odd jobs, such as passing out fliers. He was unemployed at the time of his arrest. The slayings had stumped investigators for months, primarily because the bodies were badly decomposed and several of the women were prostitutes with little known "There were a number of obstacles," Mattox said. "We can thank a lot of hard work and a lot of luck" for the arrest. "(Police) really have put in lots and lots of hours," said Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor Mike Reynolds, who will begin reviewing files Monday for possible new charges.

"It's hard to overstate the amount of time they put in." Police were tracking a different suspect earlier this month, another drifter who lived near the Monterey Motel, where three bodies were discovered Feb. 17. But leads turned up nothing. Detectives said they hoped the arrest would restore calm to Highland Park, a city of 24,000 that in 1990 led the state with its murder rate. "We feel a great sense of relief for the whole community," Mattox said.

Highland Park Mayor Linsey Porter, who has cited the city's many vacant buildings as an invitation to violent crime, said police "will keep emphasizing to citizens to be more involved when they see suspicious activity or suspicious characters in their neighborhood or on the street." But, he added, "Highland Park is safe and there isn't a monster waiting to jump out of the bush." Detroit News Staff Writer Lori-Anne Miller contributed to this report. Men's Clean-Out Special Nationally Known brands of athletic, dress casual footwear at unbelievable sawngsl Formerly to $95... Women's Clean-Up Special Famous brands of women's dress, casual and athletic shoes, plus handbags, at incredible savings' Selected values to $78... $1C JOE WHFH Tu. $25 ALL SALES FINAL ALL SALFS FINAL STARTS MONDAY AT 9 30 A AND LASTS TIL ALL OF THE PAIRS ARE GONE OR 3 BIG DAYS' EXTRA HELP TO SFRVE YOU BE THERE EARLY FOR BEST SELECTIONS SIBLEY'S SHOES 81.

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