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CNN Live Today

In Louisiana, Police Hunt for Serial Killer

Aired July 31, 2002 - 10:22   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We go to Louisiana now, where three brutal killings have one common connection: DNA evidence found on each of the victims. Police say it indicates that one person was responsible for all of the murders. Now, the hunt is on for a serial killer.

Ben Lemoine from our affiliate WBRZ has a closer look at the murders.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN LEMOINE, CNN AFFILIATE WBRZ REPORTER (voice-over): Police found Gina Wilson Green strangled to death on September 24 of 2001 in her home on Stanford Avenue. In May, police found Charlotte Murray Pace stabbed to death in her Charleau (ph) Avenue town home, just a week after moving from a house on Stanford. And troopers found the body of Pam Kinamore under the I-10 Whiskey Bay Bridge on July 16. Her throat had been slit, and she bled to death.

Now, deputies say DNA tests performed on Kinamore confirm all three women were killed by the same person.

ED WHITE, PAM'S BROTHER-IN-LAW: This is a confirmation. You know, we -- a lot of us in the family believed that there was some kind of a potential link.

LEMOINE: The link also confirms that there is a serial killer on the loose. One former crime scene investigator says detectives now have to compare much more evidence.

PETER WINNE, PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR: The truth is, there may be other cases in other geographic areas or other jurisdictions that are related to these cases, which may provide additional information or evidence that will bring all of this together.

LEMOINE: Winne says that won't be easy. It could take thousands of hours of investigation. But he says that's what it takes to catch a killer.

Ben Lemoine, WBRZ, News 2, Louisiana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And those killings occurred close to a Louisiana State University campus. With the new school year set to begin soon, there are questions about the safety of students.

Joining us now from Baton Rouge is Mark Emmert. He is the chancellor of Louisiana State University.

Mr. Chancellor, good morning, and thanks for joining us.

MARK A. EMMERT, CHANCELLOR, LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY: Good morning, Daryn.

KAGAN: As I understand it, two of these women, two of the victims were LSU students.

EMMERT: Well, actually just one was a student. But you know, Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge is really one large, extended academic family. And so, when there is this kind of a tragedy that occurs, it affects us a lot like an entire family. So while just one of them was a student there, they are all members of our extended community, and we are deeply troubled by it, as you can imagine.

KAGAN: I would think so, and even though these murders didn't take place on campus, as chancellor of a university, I would think you have to -- your concern for their safety has to go beyond the place of when they are actually have their -- actually on campus.

EMMERT: Well, that's right, of course. In fact, violent crime is actually down on the campus. But again, because this is really a university community, we share concern for and responsibility over the entire community. So we are obviously deeply concerned by this. We always care about the safety of our faculty and staff and students, and now it's doubly so.

KAGAN: As I understand it, you are not able to comment on any of the specific cases, so we have to stay away from that.

EMMERT: That's right.

KAGAN: But as I was reading, I come to find out there are as many as three dozen -- OK, apparently, we just lost the chancellor -- apparent problem with the satellite there. A lot more questions Chancellor Emmert, so we're going to take a quick break, and try to work on that and be back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Let's go ahead and put the three pictures of those women back up and get back to the story we were talking about, Gina Wilson Green, Pam Kinamore and Charlotte Murray Pace, three women all murdered recently in the Baton Rouge area. All three with DNA evidence showing they are linked by a common killer. The concern that there is a serial killer on the loose in Baton Rouge very close to the campus of LSU.

And we have with us, once again, the chancellor of Louisiana State University, Chancellor Mark Emmert.

We had a little technical problem there, Chancellor, but we fixed that, and I'm glad to have you back here with us.

EMMERT: Good.

KAGAN: You were pointing out before the break that one of the women was a student at LSU, but a bigger concern for security on the campus and the Baton Rouge area. And in fact, I come to find out, there are as many as three dozen unsolved murders of women in the Baton Rouge area over the last decade.

EMMERT: That is a very large number of them. And obviously, we are deeply concerned about that. Again, the safety and security on campus has never been better in recent memory. But because we are part of this broader community, we worry about all those issues and we are responding appropriately.

KAGAN: And no time like the present, school about to begin, rush, sorority rush, I think, right around the corner next week. How are you stepping up security efforts, and even more importantly, information efforts so women know they have to be careful out there and what to look out for?

EMMERT: Well, we are doing a number of things, as you can imagine. First of all, we are stepping up all of our educational activities with our students as they return to campus. We're making sure that they know the appropriate places to be and not be, how to behave, how to handles themselves to minimize the chance of becoming a victim to what appears to be a serial killer here. That effort will be stepped up. It's always been in place. It will be even greater.

We have added more police officers and more patrols all over campus and at the borders of our campus. We are cooperating, of course, with the local police authorities to make sure that we have more protection in more places. We have added more security boxes for students. We have even added, with the help of the student government, a new -- essentially a 911 code for cell phones, so that students can get access immediately to our police, as well as to police around the community.

We're doing a variety of measures like that to make sure that everyone knows the risks and how we can minimize them as much as possible. And of course, two of these...

KAGAN: Let me just jump in here and say, we saw a street sign in the video we were just watching while you were talking, and that is Stanford Street. There is a connection to Stanford Street with at least two of the women.

EMMERT: Yes.

KAGAN: But where is that street, and what are the characteristics of that street that might have brought the serial killer there?

EMMERT: Well, it's amazingly, Daryn, a lovely neighborhood in the university district. It's about a half-mile from campus. It's a part of campus where a lot of faculty and staff live. It's not at all the kind of place you think of when you think of this kind of crime.

KAGAN: I would imagine you have heard from a number of parents who are concerned about especially sending their daughters to campus?

EMMERT: We have talked to a lot of students, of course, a lot of parents, a lot of staff members. As you can see from some of the photographs, two of the victims were, in fact, in their 40s. So we're as concerned about faculty and staff and community members, too. So we're trying to spread the word widely about the risk and make sure everyone is being overly cautious.

KAGAN: Chancellor Mark Emmert of Louisiana State University -- sir, thank you for joining us.

EMMERT: Thank you.

KAGAN: We wish you and the local police the best of luck. Also, the FBI is getting involved in this in finding the serial killer in your area -- thank you very much.

EMMERT: Thank you very much.

KAGAN: We do also want to mention we invited the Baton Rouge Police Department to come on and give us more details on this case. They declined that invitation, but you can bet we're going to stay on top of the story and bring you the latest as it develops.

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