Lansing police chief says serial killer May be behind five deaths along river trail

Lansing police chief Robert Backus said Thursday that five deaths along a short stretch of a river trail may be the work of a serial killer. The deaths, which began last October and span nearly a year, are all active investigations and could be related cases.

Three of the deaths were ruled homicides, while the other two remain undetermined. A suspect, Edward Smith, 24, was arrested for the Aug. 20 stabbing of Daniel Lusk, 22, but has not yet been charged in the other cases. The victims—Gino Chouinard, 54; Denis Dunnebacke, 70; Robert Smith, 57; and Louis Woodruff, 57—were found along a roughly 1.5‑mile section of trail near downtown Lansing.

Police set up camera trailers along the trail and assigned night‑shift officers to patrol the area. Backus noted that the assaults are believed to have taken place in the early morning and that the lack of cameras or witnesses makes locating the exact times of the incidents challenging.

Read the full story at NBC News.