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(Image: CHARLESTON POLICE/SG)

Neal Falls turned up at the home of a woman known only as Heather after answering an escort ad she put online.

When she answered the door he asked "live or die?" before pulling a gun on her and strangling her.

Heather tried to hit him with a rake but when the attacker dropped his gun she shot him in the back of his neck.

"When he strangled me, I grabbed my rake and when he laid the gun down to get the rake out of my hands I shot him," the sex worker said.

When cops arrived at Heather's house in Charleston, West Virginia, they found a terrifying arsenal of weapons in his car, including: a shovel, knives, a bulletproof vest, a machete, bleach, bin bags, sledgehammers and axes.

In his back pocket they also found a bone-chilling "kill list" full of names of potential victims – all sex workers who advertised on the same website, Backpage.com.

Investigators now believe Falls may have been responsible for a spate of killing across the US.

(Image: CHARLESTON POLICE)

(Image: CHARLESTON POLICE)

He lived in Las Vegas for a time where cops are investigating the murder and dismemberment of several women.

"It’s likely that Mr. Falls is a serial killer," Charleston police Chief of Detectives Steve Cooper said.

"I believe she [Heather] saved lives by shooting Mr. Falls, based on what he did to her and based on the items found in his car.

"The stuff that we found is so alarming that we want law enforcement across the country to be aware of it."

Heather said as soon as Falls knocked on her front door, she knew she could die.

"I knew he was there to kill me," she said.

"I could tell that he had already done something because he said that he was going to prison for a long time. And that's when I knew he was gonna kill me."

Police said Falls did not have a criminal history. He worked as a security guard in the northwestern state of Oregon and only had minor traffic offences on his driving license.

Heather has not been charged with killing Falls as it was self defence.

(Image: CHARLESTON POLICE)

The horrifying case is similar to the unsolved mystery of Jack the Ripper – the notorious serial killer who murdered prostitutes in Whitechapel, east London, in the late 1880s.

And in the small town of Chillicothe, Ohio – just two hours from Charleston – at least six female sex workers have disappeared in the last year.

Four of their bodies have been discovered dumped in nearby streams and creeks. Police and the FBI are now investigating whether Falls could be responsible for their murders.

(Image: GETTY/EXPRESS NEWSPAPERS)

But regardless of whether he is connected or not, Lt Cooper said he clearly had violent and disturbing intentions at his latest victim's house.

He said: "He made a deal with the victim to exchange money for her services as an escort.

"He brought no money with him. What he brought with him was a firearm, four sets of handcuffs, and all of the items you have photos of from the trunk of his car.

"So… clearly his intentions were dark."