Suspected serial killer Arthur Ream touted body count, is not cooperating with authorities, police say

John Wisely , Elisha Anderson | Detroit Free Press

Show Caption Hide Caption Officials give update on search for bodies in Macomb Township Authorities give an update at the scene of the Macomb Township dig that started Monday, May 7, 2018.

MACOMB TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Suspected serial killer Arthur Ream bragged in prison about killing four to six people, Warren police said

Now, investigators are digging on a 24-acre wooded parcel here hoping to find them. It's a spot near where Ream buried 13-year-old Cindy Zarzycki of Eastpoint, Mich., whom he killed 1986.

“We do have, as you know, probable cause to believe that this is a grave site," Warren Police Commissioner William Dwyer said Wednesday at a news conference near the search site. "No question about it, that Kimberly King and other young female victims who were murdered are buried here."

King was 12 when she vanished September 1979 from Warren.

"I was the last person to see Kim alive before she disappeared," her friend, Annie Godbout, said at the news conference. "And I know that something horrible happened to her that night. She never, ever would have left her sisters and her grandmother worrying about her."

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But is Ream really a serial killer or just another prisoner who embellishes his record?

Dwyer sounded confident that other bodies would be found but wouldn't disclose all the information investigators have. He did say that detectives have interviewed Ream and fellow prisoners and that Ream failed a polygraph test.

While searchers have yet to locate human remains, Dwyer said they did find something, but he wouldn't elaborate.

"What we have found makes us very cautiously optimistic that we're on the right track," the police chief said.

After Ream's 2008 conviction for killing Zarzycki, Ream led investigators to an unmarked grave on the property about 25 miles north of Detroit that Ream's friends once owned.

There, they found Zarzycki buried about 18 inches deep.

Dwyer said other missing Michigan girls who could be connected to Ream include these:

• Cynthia Coon, 13, who disappeared from Ann Arbor in 1970

• Nadine O'Dell, 16, who disappeared in Inkster in 1974

• Kim Larrow, 15, who disappeared in Canton in 1981

• Kellie Brownlee, 17, who disappeared in Novi in 1982

Cynthia Coon, 13, missing since 1970 from Ann Arbor; Nadine O'Dell, 16, missing since 1974 from Inkster; Kimberly King, 13, missing since 1979 from Warren; Kim Larrow, 15, missing since 1981 from Canton; and Kellie Brownlee, 17, missing since 1982 from Novi. (Photos: The Doe Network, National Missing and Unidentified Persons System)

Investigators said they found no connection between any of those victims, who appear to have been targeted randomly.

In the Zarzycki murder, Ream knew his victim, the girlfriend of his then-14-year-old son, Scott. Ream, who lived in the area, met her at a Dairy Queen and told her he was going to take her to his son's birthday party, according to then-assistant prosecutor Steve Kaplan.

Eastpointe Detective Derek McLaughlin, who cracked the case, said Ream admitted having a fetish for teenage girls.

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At his sentencing, Ream said he didn't assault Zarzycki and that her death was an accident.

Tim Kohler, who represented Ream in the case, told the Free Press on Wednesday that his former client "baited people" and was "not a likable guy."

Still, Ream never hinted about more victims, Kohler said.

In 2008, authorities didn't see any signs either, Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith said.

"He gave us no indication that there may be other bodies there," Smith said, adding that Ream appeared to be a guy who craved attention. "If there were more, I'm surprised he didn't tell us 10 years ago."

Ream was accused of sexually assaulting a hitchhiker in Shelby Township in 1974. He was convicted and released from prison in 1978.

In 1998, Ream pleaded guilty to third-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a 14-year-old girl in Gladwin County in northern Michigan. Records show he was sentenced to four to 15 years and was still in prison when he was charged with Zarzycki's murder.

Ream has been cagey with investigators in the past.

During his 2008 murder trial, Ream offered to lead investigators to Zarzycki's body in exchange for a second-degree murder conviction, which could have given him the possibility of parole. Prosecutors were ready to take the deal, but Ream backed out.

A jury convicted him of first-degree murder, which carries a mandatory life sentence without parole. A month after his conviction, Ream did lead them to the Macomb Township location where investigators also are digging now.

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He is serving his life sentence for murder at the Earnest C. Brooks Correctional Facility in Muskegon Heights. While he remains in prison, investigators from Warren Police, Michigan State Police, the Macomb County Sheriff's Office and the FBI continue their search.

Ream is no longer cooperating with authorities, Dwyer said.

On Wednesday near the entrance to the dig site, neighbors walked dogs and pushed babies in strollers, stopping to catch glimpses of the activity. Search crews loaded their cars with shovels and headed to a spot at the far end of a swampy field surrounded by trees. Salvation Army trucks parked near the taped-off area to provide food and water to searchers.

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At the news conference Wednesday, police said the search could last several days. It began Monday.

On Thursday, officials were wondering whether rain forecast for Friday through the weekend could delay their meticulous work.

"It would mean a great deal to be able to bring her remains home, obviously," said King's older sister, Konnie Beyma. "But it looks like it may bring a great deal of hope to a lot of families. So I think this is very important, not just for us but for many families.”

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She also had a message for Ream:

"Please just tell us where she is so we can move on," Beyma said. "That's all. ... Let us bury her next to my grandmother. That's all I want."

Contributing: Aleanna Siacon and Christina Hall, Detroit Free Press. Follow John Wisely and Elisha Anderson on Twitter: @Jwisely and @elishaanderson