Attacker killed by woman may have had other victims

Cooper said that authorities found handcuffs, bleach, bulletproof vests, cutting instruments and firearms in the suspect’s vehicle.

Police are investigating whether there are other victims of an Oregon man killed after he attacked a woman in West Virginia.

Cooper said it’s likely Falls has been involved in similar crimes in the past and they are now working with other agencies across the country to determine whether Falls may be connected to any unsolved cases.

The shooting was self-defense, according to police.

“There’s more than one reason to believe that this may be a viable lead in their case”, Cooper said.

He said they are not releasing the woman’s name because they don’t want to cause her further trauma. But, police said based on what they found in his vehicle that might not have been his first victim. Her body was found in a river a week later, and police ruled it a suicide. Employment records found by police indicate he had previously worked as a security guard.

The woman told police she encountered the man via Backpage.com, a classified advertising site that has drawn criticism for being linked to sex trafficking. “It does not appear he had a residence and we’ve done a thorough background and the only family members that come up are either deceased or unable to be found. We’ve got very little information on this guy”. When he went into the intended victim’s home, there were four sets of handcuffs and a 9 mm pistol in his pocket. “They’ll be tracking this person’s movements fully, how was he employed, what was he doing before coming to West Virginia, and all sorts of things”, he said. Chief Deputy T.J. Hollis, of the Ross County Sheriff’s Department, said police reached out to share their case file so that local authorities may investigate whether there is a link to the probe into Chillicothe’s missing women.

According to multiple media reports that quote Charleston police detectives, Falls entered the woman’s apartment and a struggle ensued nearly immediately. “I could tell that he had done something bad because he said he was going to prison for a long time”. The woman on Wednesday recounted some of those statements to Charleston’s WCHS-TV. They suspected he may have attacked others and contacted Chillicothe police.