[4] It is believed that the killers often lured them into their vehicles, after which they would rape, beat and ultimately kill the victim in various ways before dumping them in various locations across San Diego County, the beach and a wooded area near Interstate 8.
[11] During the course of the investigation, thousands of men from San Diego County were tested for potential involvement on the basis that they had criminal records for violent offenses against women, were mentally ill or HIV-positive.
[citation needed] Almost immediately, there were skeptics who criticized the idea that the Seattle murders were linked to those in San Diego, as studies at the time suggested that at least 50 active serial killers worked across the United States alone.
Robert Keppel, a major investigator for the Washington State Attorney General's Office at the time, said that over the years he had received numerous inquiries from departments around the country that claimed the Green River Killer had killed in their areas, but only those in San Diego were close enough for consideration.
In February 1986, the 28-year-old Donald Eugene Couch was identified as the prime suspect in the murder of Linda Freeby, committed while he was out on parole for another crime.
After luring the girl into his car, Porter drove her to the outskirts of San Diego, where he beat and stabbed her twice, but was caught in the act by police officers patrolling the area.
[33] Porter would ultimately be convicted solely of the Cwik murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, but was proposed as a suspect in 13 others, including those of Gentile and Maine.
[35] In December 1988, 46-year-old Alan Michael "Buzzard" Stevens, a former biker with convictions for assaults against women and weapons violations, was arrested in San Marcos while sleeping inside his van.
[36] He was charged with the murder of Cynthia McVey, and was additionally proposed as a suspect in the kidnapping of 4-year-old Laura Bradbury, who had been abducted from the Joshua Tree National Park in October 1981.
In June 1992, 30-year-old Bryan Maurice Jones, an inmate serving a 22-year sentence for raping a young woman near El Cajon Boulevard, was charged with four murders that occurred in the area.
[42] In addition to this, he was charged with the sexual assault and attempted murder of two other women that occurred in San Diego on August 15, 1985, and October 20, 1986, who identified him as their rapist.
[43] In 1994, Jones was convicted of murdering Sweets and Glover, after which he was sentenced to death - the charges in the Simpson and Carpenter were dropped due to a lack of evidence.
In April 1997, Andrew Urdiales was considered a possible suspect after it was proven that he had killed Mary Ann Wells, who had previously been listed as an official victim.
On August 5, 2005, 47-year-old Mark Francis Elder was arrested in Orange City, Florida, for the murder of Janet Moore after DNA linked him to the crime scene.
[5] On March 10, 1989, 45-year-old Richard Allen Sanders, a former police officer based in Vancouver, Washington, was shot and killed in Yacolt by two men, Joel Hansen and Clifford Brethour.
Following his death, police searched Sanders' apartment and a rented garage in San Diego, where they found nude photographs of girls and women, as well as videotapes, one of which featured Melissa Sandoval.
[52] In mid-1989, an informant told police that in January 1988, Sanders showed him two snuff films he had made himself, in which he played a serial killer who killed prostitutes.
Suspicion against him heightened after his close friends revealed that he made a living by selling and distributing methamphetamine to pimps and prostitutes across San Diego, which allowed him to spend a lot of time in their company.
[53] In 1990, various community organizations and political activists demanded that the City of San Diego investigate and discipline a number of police officers after a number of friends and relatives of the first victim, Donna Gentile, told various media outlets that the murders were supposedly committed by a group of police officers who had forced them to become street informants and sexually harassed them.
Under public pressure, the San Diego County District Attorney was forced to order an internal investigation under federal supervision.
[citation needed] In September 1985, Maine was arrested, convicted of check fraud and sentenced to four months imprisonment at the Las Colinas County Jail.
[56] At one point, police also suspected Maine's ex-husband and pimp Steve Smith, but were unable to prove it, as by 1991 he had serious health and memory problems and was living in a drug treatment facility.
Steed then identified Gentile's killers as Carl Black and Robert Hannibal, a police officer who had been fired in 1983 for sexually harassing and beating prostitutes.
Despite claims from a number of acquaintances and prostitutes that the pair had approached multiple people to devise a plan to kill Gentile, no concrete evidence was uncovered to confirm this.
Steed also claimed that then-Chief Medical Examiner David Stark, because of his close cooperation with the San Diego District Attorney's Office and the police, withheld the autopsy reports on Gentile's body from the public.
According to people who believe in the SPDP theory, Stark intentionally classified the reports in an attempt to conceal evidence and clues implicating the officers.
Shortly before the creation of the task force, Stark was fired from his position for destroying critical evidence in the form of cremating the remains of four victims without proper authorization.
[54] In 1981, Wilkening, a former real estate agent from New York City, organized an escort service stationed in San Diego, and after a raid, police seized a list containing the names of more than 500 clients.
In the mid-1980s, according to entries in her diary, Arnold collaborated with Wilkening and hired girls to dance at the bachelor party of fellow officer John Lusardi.
This move was criticized by other law enforcement agencies, mostly due to the fact that the known suspects were rarely charged with murder and instead with other, less serious crimes.