Lake of fear: 16 bodies found in same water, theories of 'smiley face' killer in Texas
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Lake of fear: 16 bodies found in same water, theories of 'smiley face' killer in Texas")
The Buffalo Bayou is seen at sunset Photograph: (AFP)
After 16 bodies were discovered in the same lake, the mayor confronted the online serial killer theories, assuring the public that investigations are ongoing.
A wave of fear and speculation has swept across the community in Houston, Texas. The Texas police recovered 16th dead body from the bayous, five with a gap of five days in September. There is a rumour going on about a serial killer from the grisly pattern, but the law enforcement claims there is no established link. The latest came on October 8.
The bodies recovered from the Bayous are in the same stretch of river, which is popular for recreational activity. The age range of the bodies recovered is somewhere between 20s and 60s.
“We do not have any evidence that there is a serial killer loose in Houston, Texas,” said Mayor of Houston John Whitmire.
However, some others are not so quick to dispel the danger of a serial killer. Retired NYPD Sgt. Kevin Gannon says that this could be the work of the notorious “smiley face killers".
"We’ve never seen drowning numbers like this before, especially with a drowning occurring every other day in the same location," said Kevin to Fox News Digital.
“This is an aberration and not the normal age of our 700-plus 'potential victims,” he said.
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The 'smiley face killers' are a notorious but organised gang of killers who target young college-going men and through their bodies in water and mark their area with graffiti. They mostly operate in the Midwest and Northeast near the big towns or college towns near the waterways.
However, Houston's Mayor repeatedly denied any possibility of a serial killer, saying that drowning is not unusual
in the city's 2,500 miles of bayous. "Unfortunately, the homeless, when they pass, often end up in the bayou," said the Mayor.
A criminal justice professor at Penn State Lehigh Valley Retired NYPD Sgt. Joseph Giacalone, says that its not wise to dismiss them as random occurances.
"You have 16 bodies, you can't just say everybody's dying and getting thrown into the river and everybody's homeless, you don't even know if they're from your town." he said to Fox News.
He urged all of them need autopsy and toxicology reports. The 16 th body recovered was of man making 7th since September.
