It is certainly possible that all five deaths could be explained away as accidents or suicides. Each was originally classified "exceptional clearance," by the La Crosse police, meaning that the deaths were not witnessed and authorities had no evidence to suggest that a crime had been committed, at least not one that they could prosecute.
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But last spring, based on the public outcry following Dion's death, the police department, with the assistance of the Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation, agreed to reexamine the theory that a serial killer might have been responsible for some or all of the deaths.
In June, Stuff magazine presented the La Crosse police with the information the magazine had compiled regarding the Missouri man. It was, several law enforcement officials said at the time, the first time authorities in La Crosse had heard of the man.
It is essential to note that neither the magazine nor the authorities have claimed that the man is responsible for any of the deaths. In fact, in an interview with reporters from Milwaukee, the man denied any connection to the deaths in Minneapolis. But as one veteran criminal profiler put it, there was ample reason to at least interview him in connection with the La Crosse cases. At the age of nearly 40, the profiler said, it is likely that this self-described Jeffrey Dahmer wannabe "has done more than just watch. If I had to vote, I'm voting killer." Even if there is no evidence linking the man to the cases, the profiler noted, the very fact that he has found some kind of community, a place where he can consort in the ether with men who share his bizarre sexual predilections and perhaps even his fantasies of violence, is a strong indication that the notion of a serial killer who murders by drowning could exist. That alone, the profiler says, would be fertile ground for investigation.
The profiler's sentiments were echoed by the St. Charles, Missouri, detective who first became alarmed at the man's claims. While he has his doubts that the man is a killer, the detective quickly noted, "I think if I had all those cases, he'd be a great lead to eliminate."
It has been six months since the magazine first presented its findings to Kondracki and the La Crosse police. But so far, according to Capt. Mitch Brohmer, a spokesman for the department, the department has not yet completed a timeline of the man's activities, and has made no effort to interview the man to either implicate or eliminate him as a suspect in the deaths.
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