|
 |
 |
|
|
|
** This is an archived, static copy of the Casebook messages boards dating from 1998 to 2003. These threads cannot be replied to here. If you want to participate in our current forums please go to https://forum.casebook.org **
Archive through 10 October 2002
Casebook Message Boards: Beyond Whitechapel - Other Crimes: The Sniper (Tarot Card Killer?) in the D.C. area:
Archive through 10 October 2002
Author: Brian H
Wednesday, 09 October 2002 - 04:11 pm |        | | Just curious if anyone has an opinion on this nutcase currently stalking the D.C. area. Is this person a serial killer, terrorist, or just a thrill-seeking looney? He seems to like taunting the police: "Dear policeman: I am God", in the style of JTR (if you believe any of the letters were from Jack), the Zodiac Killer, et al. |
Author: Christopher T George
Wednesday, 09 October 2002 - 04:26 pm | | Hi, Brian:
I think the person in a way has shown their hand, so to speak, by writing on a tarot card and leaving it at the scene of the Prince George's County shooting on October 7.
The person is probably a megalomaniac loner with an interest in black magic, the occult, video games, horror and action films. Probably white, probably in their twenties to forties, a person disappointed in their career.
They might be a worker or former worker at a Michael's crafts store--two of the incidents have been linked to Michael's crafts stores, a shot fired at a crafts store in the Aspen Hill area of Montgomery County on October 2 with no one hurt, and then the woman wounded when she was shot in the back in the car park in front of a Michael's craft's store in a shopping mall in Fredericksburg, Virginia, on October 4.
Chris George |
Author: Stephen P. Ryder
Wednesday, 09 October 2002 - 05:27 pm | | Strangely enough, I was at a Michael's craft store on October 4th, just about an hour or so after that woman was shot in Fredericksburg. This one was approximately 25 miles west of Fredericksburg. The parking lot was swarming with police, so I imagine one of their working theories involves a relationship between the shooter or shooters and the chain store.
Personally I think the Michael's link is not so much a clue to the shooter's identity, but a way for the shooter to immediately indiciate to the public that he's back at work. The first shooting after the original five (the one in D.C.) took nearly, or more than, 24 hours for the police to definititively link it to the serial sniper. That shooting was on Thursday I believe. I get the feeling that the shooter got frustrated that no one was linking the D.C. shooting to him all day Friday - wasted "panic time" in his demented mind - so he decided to leave a message at the next shooting that evening that would let the public know for sure that it was his doing, right off the bat. Committing the crime at a Michael's - the same store that was his very first target on Wednesday - was his way of leaving that message, and stirring up the panic all anew.
Who's doing this? I believe its two men in their late teens, early- to mid-twenties. Military or hunter types, though from what I've read recently, nearly anyone at the novice level can attain the same level of accuracy with today's telescopic lenses. Both men might be treating this whole thing as a game - I wouldn't be surprised, once they're caught, to find a list of point-values for different types of victims, whether or not they're killed, etc. A sort of psychopathic scavenger-hunt. The randomness among the victims (men, women, children, white, hispanic, indian) seems almost *too* random, almost fabricated, as if they're trying to hit one person in every "category". Either way, they're both feeding off each other's energy, inciting each other on to the next murder, giving high-fives to one another after every successful shot.
They're both watching the news coverage in their down-time, and enjoying ever minute of it. Last week, when they had been targeting only adults, the local stations were full of reports of local schools going into Code Blue lockdowns to protect the children. Then, on Monday, a student was hit - as if they got the idea from their own press coverage, and wanted to prove that no preparation was enough to protect anyone from their wrath.
Up until today I had major reservations that these snipers would not be caught, at least for a long time. But once I heard about the tarot card and accompanying message, that all changed. If the card was indeed from the killer(s), then he's not as smart and cunning as I had feared, and he will likely foul-up sometime soon and be captured. He's getting cocky and playful, and perhaps even a bit suicidal - wanting to get caught.
Of course, none of that detracts from the fact that all of Northern Virginia is in a near-complete state of panic. People are refusing to mow their lawns or fill their gas-tanks... and those that do visit the pumps, according to the local news, are only filling a few gallons at a time - so as to minimize their time out of doors. I'm not quite so paranoid as that, but I'll admit that I looked over my shoulder quite a few times on Tuesday when I last filled my Saturn with 87 Octane.... |
Author: Howard Brown
Wednesday, 09 October 2002 - 06:34 pm | | | Steve and Chris: here in Philly,my daughter's school had a special PTA meeting tonight( Wed.) to discuss how the kids can deal with this problem...My daughter wondered if this maniac(s) was comin' North. I was surprised how much she knew about the details. She's only 7. I just hope he does NOT get taken alive. |
Author: Garry Wroe
Wednesday, 09 October 2002 - 07:55 pm | | Hi Howard.
Whilst I understand the sentiment of your final sentence, I would point out that a good deal of information is liable to be lost if the offender is not taken alive. Still, given that his behavioural pattern appears to be that of the spree killer, the chances are that he will either die in a confrontation with police or will commit suicide.
Best wishes,
Garry Wroe. |
Author: Howard Brown
Wednesday, 09 October 2002 - 08:18 pm | | | Yo Garry.....You are right. As soon as they extract any and all information about this coward,i.e.,his "agenda",any possible comrades,stuff like that,then shoot him in the back( preferably in the mid-back,to take out his innards first.....)and say he was trying to escape. I should have been more clear in my comment. What I meant was we don't need to "analyze",make documentaries about,or have in our collective memory another misfit who WISHES precisely that: to be a "known",not unknown.There are enough of these former unknowns who waste our tax dollar and time. Thanks,Garry,for pointing out my posting error.Your friend,Howard |
Author: Esther Wilson
Wednesday, 09 October 2002 - 08:50 pm | | I don't really have a solid opinion on this case yet but when I heard the news tonight about them finding a Tarot card with the "I am God" message written on it....that rang bells in my head. I will be watching the news more closely for info before posting my ideas.
My main question is did the shooter really leave the card or was this a sick joke on the behalf of a thrill seeker?
Esther |
Author: Howard Brown
Wednesday, 09 October 2002 - 09:01 pm | | | Dear Esther....By the reaction of the police chief Moose's reaction,it probably was left by him. I heard that he didn't appreciate the media leaking this out... |
Author: David O'Flaherty
Thursday, 10 October 2002 - 12:20 am | | The Connecticut Yankee forgot to pop his pills tonight.
Dave |
Author: David O'Flaherty
Thursday, 10 October 2002 - 12:56 am | | Howard,
Is that your little one in your profile? That's a sweet photograph, my friend.
To those in the DC area,
What's the local perception of Chief Moose? I've seen him take some criticism for giving too many press conferences (in which he gave parental advice and when the tarot card was leaked, offered to let the media run the investigation). Do you think this criticism of the chief is warranted? He's certainly under a great deal of pressure--do you believe he's equipped to handle it? And any thoughts on the media coverage--is it helping or hindering?
Cheers and stay safe,
Dave |
Author: Stephen P. Ryder
Thursday, 10 October 2002 - 06:43 am | | Well, last night there was another, still as yet unlinked, murder in the D.C. area - this time far too close to home, in Manassas. A white male, shot once, dead, at a gas pump just off busy route 66. Initial reports said it was a shotgun blast at close-range, which would indicate a marked difference in m.o., but now it seems they are only describing it as a "single shot". I imagine and hope that Chief Moose's press conference at 7.15am will shed some light on the matter.
As far as local perceptions of Chief Moose... I think the majority of the locals here support him 100%. He holds three press conferences a day but he's certainly not doing it just to get face-time on the tele, and I agree entirely that the tarot card should not have been leaked. At the very least the writing on the card should have been kept close to home. Considering this is the one of the only pieces of evidence left by the killer, the handwriting and message could very well have been used to verify an impending confession.
Moose's statement yesterday about allowing Channel 9 to run the investigation was, well, a little weird, but hey, the man has had maybe 10 hours of sleep in the past week... I'm willing to cut him some slack.
Is he equipped to handle the case.... no, and I suspect there's not a single police chief in the nation who would be. This case fits no known mold, and assuming the killer or killers don't get too cocky, they may very well escape detection all together, much like the Zodiac. Chief Moose is working hard to cooperate with the various local and federal jurisdictions, and although I now hear there is some power-jockeying going on between the various counties, I still think its being managed fairly well.
Media coverage is a double-edged sword (to borrow a term from Babs Streisand....) It helps in the sense that it has enlisted 10-15 million locals in looking for the white box-truck, and that it has brought in over 1700 credible leads to date. But it can also cause a great deal of damage... feeding the killer(s) ego, giving them ideas of where to hit next (I'm convinced they got the idea for the school shooting from the local press), and probably even angering them when the talking heads talk tough and call them cowards. |
Author: Howard Brown
Thursday, 10 October 2002 - 08:11 am | | | Dave: Thanks for the remark about my whiz-kid kid !! Yeah,she is the goods. Thanks a lot ! Howard |
Author: Howard Brown
Thursday, 10 October 2002 - 08:20 am | | | Once again a totally unnecessary cheap shot,Dave Radka.....Whats the deal with you? I have a feeling that if you could find Baltimore on a map,went there,and saw Mr.George,you wouldn't say those things to him. Whats wrong,dude? |
Author: Scott E. Medine
Thursday, 10 October 2002 - 10:17 am | | Here in the black hole of Georgia (especially the Atlanta area) we get only scant information in the local papers and news. Going on what has been stated in the national news I would say the killer is ex-military or has read books on military special operations.
I spent 6 years in the US Army. I was assigned to the 2nd Ranger Battalion in Ft. Lewis Washington for four and spent the final two years in Bad Tolz Germany. I was never trained as a sniper but I have known people hwo were. I have worked closely with them because of the general nature of being assigned to a Ranger Battalion.
Lack of eyewitnesses tells me the killer is more than likely moving into position under the cover of night or by a route that affords him little personal contact. He probably has several escape routes as well as primary and secondary firing points. He may have his cached his weapon somewhere near his position well ahead of time. The tarot card and the message on it does not so much point to a fixation with the occult but rather has another tie. US Special Operation Teams will leave death cards on their victims or target areas after successful raids. This goes back to WW II but was more prevalent in Vietnam. Ranger Battalions usually left the Queen of Spades, because the infantry is considered the Queen of the Battlefield. Artillery units usually leave a King of Spades as they are considered the King of the Battlefield. Special Forces Units usually leave the Ace of Spades. After Vietnam units became more creative with their cards.
When going on patrols in Central America, after obtaining vital information on Nicaraguan Sandanista movements and positions we would leave business cards with a message written in Spanish. The message, superimposed over a skull and crossbones read; â The 2nd Ranger Battalion of the US Army would like to thank you for the unguided tour of you A.O. (Area of Operations) Maybe next time we can really party.â Present day SEAL and SF units will leave behind the Tarot Death card.
More interestingly is the fact that Special Operation Teams will issue certain support elements and internal elements code names. I belonged to Recon Team Artemis. I was the M-60 gunner, and I was code named Road Block, this was usually true for all 60 gunners. Our mortar element was code named Thor, this was usually true of all mortar elements. Dust off units (helicopter medi-vacs ) are usually code named Gabriel and our sniper was code named God.
As a side note in the movie Navy Seals starring Charlie Sheen. Bill Paxton was the team sniper and he was code named God.
Peace,
Scott
P.S. He may be working with someone, as military snipers always work in teams of two where one member acts a spotter and radio man. |
Author: Scott E. Medine
Thursday, 10 October 2002 - 10:21 am | | Here in the black hole of Georgia (especially the Atlanta area) we get only scant information in the local papers and news. Going on what has been stated in the national news I would say the killer is ex-military or has read books on military special operations.
I spent 6 years in the US Army. I was assigned to the 2nd Ranger Battalion in Ft. Lewis Washington for four and spent the final two years in Bad Tolz Germany. I was never trained as a sniper but I have known people hwo were. I have worked closely with them because of the general nature of being assigned to a Ranger Battalion.
Lack of eyewitnesses tells me the killer is more than likely moving into position under the cover of night or by a route that affords him little personal contact. He probably has several escape routes as well as primary and secondary firing points. He may have his cached his weapon somewhere near his position well ahead of time. The tarot card and the message on it does not so much point to a fixation with the occult but rather has another tie. US Special Operation Teams will leave death cards on their victims or target areas after successful raids. This goes back to WW II but was more prevalent in Vietnam. Ranger Battalions usually left the Queen of Spades, because the infantry is considered the Queen of the Battlefield. Artillery units usually leave a King of Spades as they are considered the King of the Battlefield. Special Forces Units usually leave the Ace of Spades. After Vietnam units became more creative with their cards.
When going on patrols in Central America, after obtaining vital information on Nicaraguan Sandanista movements and positions we would leave business cards with a message written in Spanish. The message, superimposed over a skull and crossbones read; â The 2nd Ranger Battalion of the US Army would like to thank you for the unguided tour of you A.O. (Area of Operations) Maybe next time we can really party.â Present day SEAL and SF units will leave behind the Tarot Death card.
More interestingly is the fact that Special Operation Teams will issue certain support elements and internal elements code names. I belonged to Recon Team Artemis. I was the M-60 gunner, and I was code named Road Block, this was usually true for all 60 gunners. Our mortar element was code named Thor, this was usually true of all mortar elements. Dust off units (helicopter medi-vacs ) are usually code named Gabriel and our sniper was code named God.
As a side note in the movie Navy Seals starring Charlie Sheen. Bill Paxton was the team sniper and he was code named God.
Peace,
Scott
P.S. Usually military snipers work in teams of two. One member is the spotter and radioman. |
Author: Christopher T George
Thursday, 10 October 2002 - 10:27 am | | Hi, all:
Well, I will ignore the potshot from Mr. Radka.
Stephen, what say you about your two-man theory, that the tarot card was reportedly inscribed, "...I am God"? Does the claim to be God imply that it is a lone gunman? I was interested also in your theory, Stephen, that the fact that two Michaels craft stores have been shooting scenes is more to draw attention to the sniper being the same person than a possible clue to their identity.
While it is dangerous to jump to conclusions, it does seem that the Manassas shooting has all the earmarks of the previous shootings, a single shot from distance. Police have said that the victim, identified as Dean Harold Meyers, 53, of Gaithersburg was killed with a single shot to the head while he was filling up at a gas station, another similarity with at least one other shooting credited to the gunman.
Interestingly, the police are following leads that a white Dodge Caravan was seen leaving the scene. If the killer is using the same vehicle, previously identified as a white Isuzu or Mitsubishi truck, they are narrowing possibilities for the police. They are exposing themselves to ultimate detection and entrapment. As Garry said, it would seem likely that all this will end in a bloody shootout with either the gunman being killed by law enforcement officers or by the person or persons committing suicide.
As for Chief Moose, I think he is doing the best in the circumstances. The purpose of the news conferences are partly to reassure the public that he and his investigative team are doing the best they can to bring the killer to justice. It must have been a blow to him that the tarot card clue was made public, as he indicated in showing his disappointment that someone close to the investigation had leaked the information.
I thought it was very interesting as well that he castigated Governor Glendening of Maryland for labeling the killer a "coward" and said that the governor would not do it again! We might note that in terms of the September 11, 2001 outrages and IRA bombings in Britain it has been de rigeur to label those terrorists "cowards" but perhaps Chief Moose feels that putting such a label on the sniper might incite more violence. This might be true if Stephen's theory is so and that the killer or killers is or are in their late teens, early- to mid-twenties.
By the way, if the sniper is a military type, there are plenty of such personnel in the Washington, DC, area. The mobility of the killer, acting any time during the day often on consecutive days, would argue that they are ex-service rather than currently serving military personnel, if they are indeed militarily linked. Americans will know of the recent Fort Bragg, North Carolina, shootings by and suicides of servicemen who returned from Afghanistan after being exposed, as I recall, to an anti-malaria drug. I don't hold that up as an especial theory in this case but it shows how men trained to kill can go amok when returned to the "peacetime" environment.
Best regards
Chris George |
Author: Christopher T George
Thursday, 10 October 2002 - 10:38 am | | Hi, all:
Some interesting analysis of the inscription on the tarot card left at the Prince George's crime scene by former FBI profiler and Virginia criminologist Robert K. Ressler and others reported this morning in the Washington Post.
Here's the article in part:
Those who have tracked and interviewed mass killers agree that the tarot card, which declared, "I am God," offers insight into the state of mind of a man who is trying to establish power and dominance through his decisions about who will live and die.
The card was found near Monday's shooting at a Bowie school that left a 13-year-old boy critically wounded. It was a tarot "death" card on which was written: "Mister Policeman, I am God." The message also contained a request that the card and the note not be revealed to the news media, sources said.
Chris |
Author: Stephen P. Ryder
Thursday, 10 October 2002 - 10:41 am | | We drive that particular stretch of road in Manassas probably 2-3 times a week... it would take the killer less than 15-20 seconds to reach Route 66 and exit to relative safely (66 East, toward Washington, is most likely as it is a direct on-ramp without a stop - the killer would have had to chance a left-turn against traffic and without a stop-light in order to escape on 66 West from that location).
What does all of this mean? Well, nothing, really, except that its clear the killer is sticking to the major arteries surrounding the Capital Beltway. Routes 50 (Bowie), 95 (Fredericksburg), 270 (Montgomery Cty) , and now 66 (Manassas) have been targeted. The only shootings that were further away from major highways were in Montgomery Cty, yet another reason to suspect that's the killer "comfort zone", and most likely where he/she/they live or have lived. |
Author: Christopher T George
Thursday, 10 October 2002 - 10:49 am | | Hi, all:
Some inadvertent gallows humor from MSN.com this morning, "Natural way to pump gas at home." 
Chris |
Author: Richard P. Dewar
Thursday, 10 October 2002 - 11:10 am | | Hi all,
This killer is reminiscent of the Zodiac killer who stalked California in the early 70s.
My first impression is the same as Scott's - that the killer is former military. Throughout U.S. history, most of the infamous sniper murderers turned out to be former Army/Marines. I do disagree with Scott about the killer working in tandem with a spotter.
If the rumor about the Tarot card and the "I am God" remark is to be believed, I believe the killer to be similiar to Zodiac in that his motivation is increase fear and to show his superior cunning in outwitting the police.
The volume and quick succession of his attacks does place him at risk of capture - indicating he does not place a good deal of time in planning out his attack.
The Zodiac frequently went months between his attacks - as if he wanted to scout out the area, make sure his crime could be executed without detection. In this case, the killer does not appear as organized.
Hopefully, someone will see him setting up his attack and the police will be able to capture him.
Rich |
Author: Eliza Cline
Thursday, 10 October 2002 - 11:33 am | | I agree that there may well be a connection with the military. I would look for a Tim McVeigh-type, a disaffected loner with military training.
I suspect the killer is also an avid hunter. He has a hunter mentality. He is stalking and hunting humans as though they were prey. |
Author: David Radka
Thursday, 10 October 2002 - 12:20 pm | | | post withdrawn |
Author: David Radka
Thursday, 10 October 2002 - 12:22 pm | | | post withdrawn |
Author: Christopher T George
Thursday, 10 October 2002 - 12:22 pm | | Hi, all:
This might be a record, folks. An article in the Washington Post's Style section today discusses the tarot card supposedly left by the suburban Washington, D.C. sniper at the Prince George's County shooting scene and other messages left by infamous killers and does not mention Jack the Ripper once!
Zodiac and Son of Sam are the perhaps the two best known serial killers discussed who are documented to have sent taunting messages to the authorities. The "Helter Skelter" graffiti left by the Manson family also gets a mention, along with calling cards left by movie characters good and bad. The lack of mention of Jack might actually be an inadvertent case of responsible journalism, because as "Ripper" letters expert Stewart P. Evans has stated, there is no evidence that any of the letters in the Whitechapel murders case was sent by the killer.
The article is "The Killer's Calling Card: A Sniper's Mark From The Realm of Fiction."
See also a related article, "The Killer's Calling Card: For Tarot Readers, Divining Meanings".
Best regards
Chris
Hang it up, David Radka, you are no longer being funny. This is a serious business. Do you remember recently when you considered legal action for things supposedly said about you? If you keep up these aspersions about me on this public website, you leave yourself open to litigation. |
|
|
|
|
