Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Police in Sioux City Closing in on Man Wanted in Connection to Killings of Seven People

Aired August 31, 2001 - 12:04   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: Police in Sioux City, Iowa say they are closing in on a man wanted in connection to the killings of seven people. Police want to question 23-year-old Adam Matthew Moss about the horrific deaths of a mother and her five children. Investigators say Moss knew those victims, as well as a man who was found dead on the other side of town. The city usually records about two homicides a year, just to give you a perspective of how this has hit Sioux City.

The chief of police says the brutality of these crimes is haunting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF JOE FRISBIE, SIOUX CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT: I can tell you this, there's no question they're homicides. There was extreme trauma, very, very brutal homicides in all cases. And I can tell you in the 34 years I've been a police officer, I've -- we've seen a lot of homicides; I've never seen one as bad as this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: A baby-sitter for the family first reported the bodies of the mother and her kids, aged 5-12 years old. Police say the victims appeared to have been dead for several days.

For more on this developing story, we're going to turn to one of our affiliates, reporter Trisha Merret. She is with our affiliate in Sioux City, KETV.

Trisha, what more can you add?

TRISH MERRET, KETV REPORTER: Well, the search here is really intensifying for Adam Moss. Sioux City police have been getting tips all morning long on where he might be.

Now just a few hours ago, the chief of police told us that they had had run-ins with Adam Moss before, and they consider him very dangerous. They told us that he can pretty much make a weapon out of anything, and that is why they consider him to be such a threat, and another reason why they think the murder is so gruesome.

Now they've gotten several tips that they've called very reliable. One of those was at a hotel that they believe that Moss was staying overnight. They brought in the dogs there to check that out, and it didn't turn up anything. They also got another very reliable tip at a home just blocks away from one of the victim's home, and went to check that out, and they believe that they missed by jut five or 10 minutes there.

So they are still searching the Sioux City area. They think Moss may still be around here, but they know he wants to head out of town. So nearly every police officer here in Sioux City is on the lookout for this guy. They've also contacted a lot of state and county agencies around here. They're hoping to get him behind bars soon.

KAGAN: Trisha, any more information about what the connection could be between Moss and the family and Moss and the man who was also found dead?

MERRET: Well, neighbors tell us that Moss was dating the women, the mother of the family that was killed. They also tell us that Moss may have worked for the other gentleman in the past, and that is the only connection between the two sets of victims here. They didn't know each, other than to know each other through Moss.

KAGAN: And as we mentioned or reported, it appears that the family, the mother, and the children have been dead for some time. They just were recently discovered.

MERRET: Right, the school district is telling us that basically the kids haven't reported to school since about Monday, and so they have been in the house for quite a while.

KAGAN: All right. Trish Merret, with our Sioux City affiliate KETV, thanks for that update.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com