PHOENIX (Michael Kiefer, Arizona Republic)
July 17, 2006 — Maritza Mancio sat nervously at the bus stop on North
32nd Street at Thomas Road.
In the parking lot across the street in November, 11 people were robbed by a man police believe is the "Baseline Killer." And on May 1, a woman was snatched from the same area and raped, according to police. She survived.
The Baseline Killer is linked to 21 attacks since August, including six murders. At least four of the murder victims were shot in the head, according to autopsy reports.
Barely a block down Thomas from where Mancio sat, the most recent victim was overpowered at a self-service carwash June 29 and taken in her car. Her body was found in a parking lot behind a barbershop three buildings away, though police will not say how she was killed.
Mancio, 35, was well-aware of where she was and what had happened there.
Nearly everyone in the neighborhood seems to be. They cite chapter and verse of who was taken where and what happened to them. But whether the information is correct or just wild rumor is anyone's guess, because the police refuse to provide many details, even to confirm or deny what the locals say.
Mancio has to ride the bus because her husband takes their car to his job. Fortunately, he picks her up so she doesn't have to ride the bus home when she gets off work at 9:30 at night.
But Mancio is hyperaware, even at midday.
"I open my door and I step out and I look in every direction because I'm so nervous," she said. "You understand? I'm with the children in the morning, and I'm alone because my husband leaves for work early."
At first he was called the "Baseline Rapist," because of the crimes he committed along Baseline Road in south Phoenix. Now police are calling him the Baseline Killer, because they believe he's killed at least six people in as many as 21 attacks.
He, along with the "Serial Shooter," who is believed responsible for 34 random shootings and five homicides, continue to elude police.
The neighborhood near 32nd Street and Thomas, though far away from Baseline Road, has been particularly hard-hit.
What's astonishing about the crime scenes is how well-lit and open they are, within close and clear view of roads that are busy day and night.
"It would be a rare occurrence not to see a car every 30 seconds," said James Garnand, who owns the carwash where Carmen Miranda, 37, was abducted and then murdered June 29.
And although the carwash has been described as isolated and dark, it is neither. There is a clear view from Thomas Road to the crime scene.
Nor is it unusual for people to be there washing cars in the evening as Miranda was.
Garnand was at his business within an hour of the abduction to show surveillance video to police. While he was there, Miranda was found dead behind a barbershop 100 yards away.
Garnand offered insights into what he saw on the surveillance video.
"The guy is apparently presenting himself well enough to get within their space," he said.
Garnand said Miranda had already washed her car and was at the vacuuming station, standing by the driver's side with the car door open when the attacker approached the passenger door. She could have jumped in the car and driven away, Garnand said, but she didn't.
On Friday morning, Carmen Garcia, 22, was toweling off her car just a few feet from where Miranda was abducted. Her small children played nearby.
"I'm terrified," she said, "because he's roaming around here at night and I work at night. I won't go out unless some friends go with me."
Glenn Notsch runs a swimming-pool service out of a small house on a stretch of 24th Street south of Thomas that has numerous office buildings.
On a Thursday in late March, he noticed drag marks in the gravel near where he parks his vehicles, and he saw patches of blood on the stones.
"I looked down on the ground," he said. "I'm a hunter. I know what blood looks like on gravel."
He called police, who looked around and found nothing.
The next Monday, Notsch noticed a strong odor when he came to work.
That afternoon, his dog Bella, who comes to work with him, insisted on nosing a pile of debris between the house and a storage shed.
Notsch moved some boards.
"I remember seeing an arm and a leg with no clothing on them. And I just ran out of there," he said.
Notsch had found Nicole Gibbons, 26, murder victim No. 5.
Notsch also said police told him that Gibbons had been shot in the head, as was Georgia Thompson, who was killed Sept. 8
Chao "George" Chou, 23, and Liliana Sanchez Cabrera, 20, who were abducted from a fast-food restaurant parking lot in March, and later found dead, were also shot in the head, according to their autopsy reports.
The other homicide victim, Tina Washington, 39, was taken from a bus stop in December. She was found dead behind a convenience store, also shot in the head, according to her autopsy report.
The reports did not say if any of the homicide victims had been sexually assaulted.
In the parking lot across the street in November, 11 people were robbed by a man police believe is the "Baseline Killer." And on May 1, a woman was snatched from the same area and raped, according to police. She survived.
The Baseline Killer is linked to 21 attacks since August, including six murders. At least four of the murder victims were shot in the head, according to autopsy reports.
Barely a block down Thomas from where Mancio sat, the most recent victim was overpowered at a self-service carwash June 29 and taken in her car. Her body was found in a parking lot behind a barbershop three buildings away, though police will not say how she was killed.
Mancio, 35, was well-aware of where she was and what had happened there.
Nearly everyone in the neighborhood seems to be. They cite chapter and verse of who was taken where and what happened to them. But whether the information is correct or just wild rumor is anyone's guess, because the police refuse to provide many details, even to confirm or deny what the locals say.
Mancio has to ride the bus because her husband takes their car to his job. Fortunately, he picks her up so she doesn't have to ride the bus home when she gets off work at 9:30 at night.
But Mancio is hyperaware, even at midday.
"I open my door and I step out and I look in every direction because I'm so nervous," she said. "You understand? I'm with the children in the morning, and I'm alone because my husband leaves for work early."
At first he was called the "Baseline Rapist," because of the crimes he committed along Baseline Road in south Phoenix. Now police are calling him the Baseline Killer, because they believe he's killed at least six people in as many as 21 attacks.
He, along with the "Serial Shooter," who is believed responsible for 34 random shootings and five homicides, continue to elude police.
The neighborhood near 32nd Street and Thomas, though far away from Baseline Road, has been particularly hard-hit.
What's astonishing about the crime scenes is how well-lit and open they are, within close and clear view of roads that are busy day and night.
"It would be a rare occurrence not to see a car every 30 seconds," said James Garnand, who owns the carwash where Carmen Miranda, 37, was abducted and then murdered June 29.
And although the carwash has been described as isolated and dark, it is neither. There is a clear view from Thomas Road to the crime scene.
Nor is it unusual for people to be there washing cars in the evening as Miranda was.
Garnand was at his business within an hour of the abduction to show surveillance video to police. While he was there, Miranda was found dead behind a barbershop 100 yards away.
Garnand offered insights into what he saw on the surveillance video.
"The guy is apparently presenting himself well enough to get within their space," he said.
Garnand said Miranda had already washed her car and was at the vacuuming station, standing by the driver's side with the car door open when the attacker approached the passenger door. She could have jumped in the car and driven away, Garnand said, but she didn't.
On Friday morning, Carmen Garcia, 22, was toweling off her car just a few feet from where Miranda was abducted. Her small children played nearby.
"I'm terrified," she said, "because he's roaming around here at night and I work at night. I won't go out unless some friends go with me."
Glenn Notsch runs a swimming-pool service out of a small house on a stretch of 24th Street south of Thomas that has numerous office buildings.
On a Thursday in late March, he noticed drag marks in the gravel near where he parks his vehicles, and he saw patches of blood on the stones.
"I looked down on the ground," he said. "I'm a hunter. I know what blood looks like on gravel."
He called police, who looked around and found nothing.
The next Monday, Notsch noticed a strong odor when he came to work.
That afternoon, his dog Bella, who comes to work with him, insisted on nosing a pile of debris between the house and a storage shed.
Notsch moved some boards.
"I remember seeing an arm and a leg with no clothing on them. And I just ran out of there," he said.
Notsch had found Nicole Gibbons, 26, murder victim No. 5.
Notsch also said police told him that Gibbons had been shot in the head, as was Georgia Thompson, who was killed Sept. 8
Chao "George" Chou, 23, and Liliana Sanchez Cabrera, 20, who were abducted from a fast-food restaurant parking lot in March, and later found dead, were also shot in the head, according to their autopsy reports.
The other homicide victim, Tina Washington, 39, was taken from a bus stop in December. She was found dead behind a convenience store, also shot in the head, according to her autopsy report.
The reports did not say if any of the homicide victims had been sexually assaulted.
