Chillicothe police look for link between W.Va. shooting, dead Ohio women

Jona Ison | Chillicothe (Ohio) Gazette

Show Caption Hide Caption Police think slain attacker maybe be serial killer A woman who killed her attacker in West Virginia may have saved several lives and could have helped solve up to 10 murder cases. Video provided by Newsy

CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — Local investigators are looking into any possible connection between an Oregon man killed by an escort in West Virginia and local missing women and homicide cases.

Chillicothe police Public Information Officer Bud Lytle said they are still checking whether Neal Falls, 45, might have visited Chillicothe or had any connection to the area.

“As it stands right now, we have nothing that ties him to anything here in Chillicothe,” Lytle said.

However, they aren’t ruling him out yet, and a team is planning to go to Charleston, W.Va., in the “near future,” Ross County sheriff’s Chief Deputy T.J. Hollis said.

Falls was shot and killed in Charleston, about two hours from Chillicothe, on July 18 while attempting to choke an escort he’d met through Backpage, a Web-based classifieds advertiser, according to Charleston police.

After finding several axes, a shovel, bleach, handcuffs, knives, a machete and other items in Falls’ vehicle, investigators began pursuing any potential connections with similar cases across the country. Because of Chillicothe’s proximity, investigators believe there could be a connection with the disappearances of Charlotte Trego, 27, or Wanda Lemons, 37, or the deaths of Tiffany Sayre, 26, Tameka Lynch, 30, or Shasta Himelrick, 20.

On Friday, a Ross County grand jury indicted a local man, Jason McCrary, 37, in the May shooting death of 38-year-old Timberly Claytor. A motive for her death remains unknown, and investigators have not found any evidence so far that links him to any of the other cases.

According to the Huffington Post, Charleston police also have connected with Las Vegas police regarding at least four cases there involving missing or murdered prostitutes.

While Falls most recently was known to live in Springfield, Ore., he has had family connections to several states, including Nevada, Iowa, Washington, Kansas, New Mexico, California and Oklahoma.

According to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System database, there are at least 306 women who were reported missing in 2014 and this year who remain unaccounted for. Trego and Lemons are among the 24 Ohio women still missing from the past five years.

Although the task force organized to investigate the Chillicothe cases has said the women are connected through drug use and prostitution, Lytle said, investigators don’t know definitively whether any of them had advertised on Backpage.

It’s unclear how many missing women across the nation have similar pasts, but according to USA TODAY, as many as one-third of repeat killers have included prostitutes among their prey.

Police remain open to the possibility that a serial killer could be involved. The task force continues to receive tips daily and have received more than 350 so far, including a few alleged sightings of Trego and Lemons. Each tip is assigned to an investigator and worked, Lytle said.

“Our hope, as is their families’ (hope), is we find them alive and bring them back to their families,” Lytle said.

Missing, dead in Ohio

Six women have been reported missing in the Chillicothe, Ohio, area in the past year. The bodies of four have been found:

• May 24, 2014. Tameka Lynch, 30.

• Jan. 2. Shasta Himelrick, 20.

• May 29. Timberly Claytor, 38.

• June 20. Tiffany Sayre, 26.

Still missing:

• Wanda Lemons, 37, about 5 feet 7 inches tall and 135 pounds with shoulder-length brown hair and blue eyes. She has a tattoo of dolphins making a heart on her lower back. Missing since Dec. 28.

• Charlotte Trego, 38, 5 foot 4 inches tall and 160 pounds with dark hair and blue eyes. She has a tattoos of “JAMES” on her chest and a Playboy bunny on her upper arm. Missing since May 3, 2014.

Source: Southern Ohio Crime Stoppers