The 'Smiley Face Gang'- Are they responsible for 40 drownings?

[bleachedblack]

Detectives: 40 Drowning Victims May Have Been Murdered by 'Smiley Face Gang'

April 29, 2008
 At least 40 young men who drowned may have died by far more sinister means — serial killings at the hands of a national gang that revels in murdering young men and leaving smiley-face markings at the scene, a team of retired New York City police detectives and criminal justice investigators said Monday.

They believe the victims, including University of Minnesota student Chris Jenkins and Fordham University student Patrick McNeill, didn't accidentally drown but were actually killed by members of the so-called "Smiley Face Gang," according to KSTP-TV, which first reported the story.

A smiley-face symbol was found painted at some of the drowning locations — in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Wisconsin and Iowa, the station said.

"They're telling you here that they're into evil, they're very happy as most serial killers are," retired NYPD Det. Kevin Gannon said at a press conference Monday. "They're content with their work and what they're doing and the fact that they're thwarting the police.

Jenkins' body was discovered in the Mississippi River about four months after he disappeared in 2003. To police, his death looked like an accidental fall after a night of drinking.

McNeill drowned in New York City in 1997, also after bar-hopping.

The task force that formed to solve the crimes believes a national crime network has killed at least 40 men — mostly white college students and 20-somethings, often with high grades and impressive athletic records — in about 10 different states.

The team investigated 89 separate cases dating back a decade and said it had connected 40 of them through a variety of evidence — including matching sets of gang graffiti.

It was Jenkins' death, however, that tipped off police. His body was found encased in ice in the Mississippi, his hands folded across his chest in an odd pose that was inconsistent with a chance drowning.

Gannon and another NYPD detective, Anthony Duarte — along with the other investigators — believe a gang of killers has been trolling interstates from New York to Wisconsin, staging the drownings.

The FBI and local authorities don't necessarily agree with the theory that all the drownings are linked and the work of a gang.

But families of the victims have long believed their loved ones' deaths were suspicious.

"The people that murdered Chris have murdered before him and they've also murdered people after him, Jan Jenkins told KSTP. "Those people are still at large.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,352960,00.html

[bleachedblack]

Sorry the actual story doesn't start until 2 min into the clip

++++++++++++

Smiley Face Serial Killers (Smiley Face Gang) Part 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwazbqzVkck

[bleachedblack]

40 victims, no suspects and only two retired cops on trail of.. Smiley face serial killers

17/05/2008
For the police officers who found the body, it seemed to be no more than a tragic case of misadventure.

Four months after he vanished following a night drinking, Chris Jenkins, 21, was found dead, encased in ice in the freezing Mississippi river.

An autopsy found no obvious signs of foul play and Chris's death was recorded as accidental drowning.

But now it has become the missing piece of a puzzle that links dozens of similar drownings, sparking an investigation into what could be the biggest serial killing in US history.

Police believe Chris was one of at least 40 victims of a gang that revels in murdering young men - then leaves an image of a smiley face at the scene.

The Smiley Face Gang are believed to have struck in at least 25 cities in 11 states over the last decade. And they appear to single out college students from well-to-do families.

The killings bear a striking similarity to the cult Watchmen comic book series written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons.

Published from 1986 to 1987, the comics portray a series of murders, beginning with that of a costumed adventurer called The Comedian whose body is found next to a blood-stained smiley face.

Chris, a student of Minnesota University, was last seen walking towards the river after he left a Halloween party in October 2002.

His disappearance sparked a search by hundreds of volunteers, and his family hired a private detective to find him, all to no avail.

But as Chris's grieving parents buried their son's body, two retired police detectives in New York were already working on a sinister theory.

The trail of murder is believed to go back to 1997, when another young man drowned in New York City in almost identical circumstances.

The body of Patrick McNeill, a 21-year-old Fordham University student, was found floating in the Hudson river three weeks after he went missing after a night bar-hopping.

Patrick's death was ruled a suicide, but his parents refused to accept it. Kevin Gannon, one of the detectives who believed them, promised never to give up until he uncovered the truth.

"It wasn't suicide," said Patrick's mother Jackie. "It was one of those things where he walked out and was never seen again." Gannon kept his promise and, after he retired from the force, devoted his life to solving the mystery, even remortgaging his house to keep the investigation alive.

Working with another retired detective, Anthony Duarte, he began looking at more than 90 drowning cases going back a decade, and they found remarkable similarities among at least 40 of them.

Most were white college students who had been popular athletes with high grades. Most had been drinking and almost all died in winter, their bodies found in near-frozen bodies of water.

Duarte says they are almost perfect crimes because the water washes away physical evidence and there are never any witnesses.

While most local investigations focused on where a body was recovered, Gannon and Duarte tried to figure out where it went into the river.

In city after city, when they'd find the spot where the body went in they would find something else - the symbol of a smiley face, daubed in paint or graffitied nearby, "like an evil, happy, smiley man".

While the colour and size of the faces varied, the detectives were convinced it was a signature left behind by the killers.

The faces were drawn on walls at 22 of the crime scenes in five states - Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Wisconsin and Iowa. There were other unspecified symbols at other crime sites, although none in New York.

In Michigan, Gannon and Duarte found the word "Sinsinawa" beside the graffiti. A few months later they arrived in Dubuque, Iowa, to investigate another death, that of Matt Kruziki. His body was found on Sinsinawa Avenue. They have also discovered what they believe to be the nicknames of the killers at more than one location. But although the evidence is difficult to dispute, local police departments were sceptical, claiming smiley faces were common graffiti tags.

Arriving in Minnesota to investigate Chris Jenkins' death in 2006, Gannon and Duarte found the crucial evidence that the authorities could no longer ignore.

As well as all the other similarities that linked his death with the others, the pair found that Chris's frozen body had been found with his hands folded across his chest, inconsistent with drowning.

Police later reclassified his death, concluding that Chris had been abducted and tortured before being drowned. But they refused to connect his death with any of 11 other drownings in the state.

But families of the victims have long believed their loved ones' deaths were suspicious. "The people that murdered Chris have murdered before and after him," his mother Jan said. "Those people are still at large." Matt Kruziki's father Bill is a policeman. He says his son disappeared on Christmas Eve 2005 after a night of drinking in East Dubuque, Illinois.

Matt's body was found three months later in the Mississippi. He had drowned, but the coroner never determined whether it was an accident, suicide or murder. "There is an instance in every one of them that doesn't make sense," said Kruziki.

Another death thought to fit the pattern is that of Adam Falcon, a student at St Lawrence University in Canton, New York, who drowned in November 2004.

He was last seen leaving the Tick Tock Bar in the village and was found in the Grasse River five days later.

Detectives Gannon and Duarte have now decided to go public about the gang "to protect the innocent and prosecute the guilty".

Gannon said: "If nothing else we have to warn families and young individuals so that no one else becomes a victim.

"It's just preposterous that all these young men are coming from bars and just walking in the water.

"We are dealing with a serial killer, not one individual but a group of individuals, probably located in more than one state.

"They're psychopaths. They have no remorse. And they will kill again."

Victim profile..

White college students in their 20s

Athletic, popular and with good grades

Disappear after going out drinking at a bar

Are always found drowned in a river

Smiley face graffiti is found close to scene of crime

FOUR OTHER UNSOLVED MURDER SPREES

THE FEMINICIDOS

Since 1993 more than 340 girls and women have been murdered in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Several suspects have been jailed but the killing goes on.

NEW BEDFORD SLAYING

In 1988 a serial murderer hunted New Bedford, Massachusetts, dumping his victims alongside highways outside of the city. He is believed to have killed 11 women, two of whom are still missing.

ZODIAC KILLER

A serial killer who operated in the San Francisco area in the late 60s and bragged to the press that he had murdered 37 people.

BIBLE JOHN

Scripture-quoting killer operating in Glasgow in the 60s. Deaths of three women are attributed to him.

http://tinyurl.com/6bm47m

[FoolsGold]

Smiley face graphiti are common along riverbanks and may well have existed prior to any of the murders.

Also, how does anyone know at which site the body enters the water?

Its interesting but I just don't see it as proven.

[Bearlyhere]

http://accordingtokim.wordpress.com/

According to Kim

June 24, 2008

Petition for Action

Filed under: Joshua Szostak, Missing people — Kim @ 9:37 am

PETITION for ACTION

to Our Elected Public Officials

Regarding the Male College Student Victims of Accidental Drowning

(Known in the media as “The Smiley Face Murders” )

This petition is submitted by the families and friends of the victims with the goal and hope of securing justice for the murders of at least 43 male college students in 25 cities across no less than 9 states.  The cause of death in each of these cases was classified as undetermined or accidental drowning, and related to excessive consumption of alcohol by the victims.  We, the family and friends of these victims, believe that justice remains to be served, and deem that enough is enough evidence in some cases to convict some of those individuals who are responsible for these murders and to bring justice for our loved ones.

We request that Robert Mueller, Director of the FBI, order his agency to conduct a full and thorough investigation into the deaths of these young men.  We believe that insufficient resources have been applied to these cases thus far to bring them to conclusion, and we petition that these cases be brought to the attention of our government officials.  We appeal to our elected representatives in public office to encourage those law enforcement personnel, under whose auspices these cases rest, to devote more time and effort into bringing the evidence forward, to make arrests, and to secure justice for the victims, their families and friends.

 ** The above is a petition that was sent to me (and others) from Bill Szostak, father of Joshua Szostak.  I have a copy of the petition that I would like to post here so people could sign and send back to Bill Szostak but I have not figured out how to attach a document.  STEVE …HELP!

If you would like a copy of the petition to sign please email me at kleo4_8871@hotmail.com and I will send a copy to you.

[Nut44x4]

Ex-cop: Szostak murder victim: Retired policeman says he believes drowning was work of "Smiley Face" killer
Released : Sunday, August 03, 2008 4:00 AM

Aug. 3--ALBANY -- A retired detective says Joshua Szostak, whose body was found in the Hudson River four months after he was last seen leaving a downtown bar, was abducted and murdered by the "Smiley Face" killer.

Kevin Gannon, a retired New York Police Department detective who has tracked the case through his company, Nationwide Investigations, said his assertion is based on markings found in the Albany area as well as the circumstances surrounding Szostak's Dec. 23 disappearance.

"We have a cumulative amount of evidence to substantiate that Josh was probably drugged, abducted and murdered," Gannon said by phone last week. "I can't tell you exactly what it is, because it would warn the Smiley Face if he knew anything about us."

The Smiley Face theory emerged as Gannon and his colleagues have tried to link the deaths of some 40 students who went missing and later were found drowned in 11 states over the past decade. In each case, a smiley face was found spray-painted nearby. Gannon's investigation has been reported in newspapers and on radio and television.

All the victims are white men between the ages of 19 and 23 who were high academic achievers and many played competitive sports. Gannon said Szostak, a 21-year-old SUNY Plattsburgh student, fit that profile.

Detectives in Albany, and elsewhere in the country, have rejected the theory.

Szostak's death was ruled an accidental drowning shortly after his body was discovered in April by a Catskill fisherman, based on autopsy findings. A spray-painted smiley face was found on a tree near the Port of Albany, but police spokesman Detective James Miller said it was not linked to Szostak and was likely a "cruel hoax."

Bill Szostak, Josh's father, always suspected foul play. In addition to contacting Gannon, Bill Szostak had an independent autopsy of his son performed by noted pathologist Michael Baden. It concluded Josh drowned and had a blood alcohol content of 0.126.

Gannon said Baden's report did not specify how long Josh Szostak had been in the water, leading him to believe he did not drown accidentally.

"So much evidence has been found that I don't understand why the case was closed (by Albany police) within two hours of finding my son's body," Bill Szostak said recently. He said he has formed a nonprofit organization, the Smiley Face Victims Investigation Fund, and will hold a fundraiser Sept. 5 at the Verdoy Fire Department to raise money for Gannon's efforts.

Detective Miller stood by Albany's investigation.

"We worked on it in excess of multiple days from the course of his initial disappearance, and there had never been any credible evidence from retired detectives working on the investigation that gave us any indication that anything happened beyond a tragic accident," he said. "This should not have gotten to this point. This was strictly a tragic accident, and no one should be using it to further their own agenda." Vielkind can be reached at 454-5043 or by e-mail at jvielkind@timesunion.com.

http://calibre.mworld.com/m/m.w?lp=GetStory&id=316319071

[bleachedblack]

Ravenna death possibly tied to 'smiley face' killing spree

Updated: Aug 16, 2008 01:20 AM
RAVENNA, Mich. (WOOD) -- In 2005, the Ravenna community scoured the area after 22-year-old Todd Geib went missing for three weeks. They found his body floating in Obenhall Lake.

Local police say the case is officially closed - ruled as an accidental drowning. But Geib's family says it was deliberate, as they continue to look for answers.

Those in his hometown are coming together and signing their names to a petition, asking the FBI to look into the possibility that Geib's death was something more sinister - a part of what some investigators think is a nationwide crime ring that targets people just like Todd.

"It's hard, it will always be hard, the reality when you lose a child. But then we come back here with a lot of questions...what happened to him?" said Kathy Geib, Todd's mother. "For three years we couldn't do anything, you know, knowing that what we believed was foul play, but there was nothing to do, no leads to go on."

She said she thinks her son's death may be part of a national chain of murders - a crime spree recently profiled on the "Today Show."

New York City private investigators, including some retired FBI agents, say they are looking into more than 40 seemingly accidental drownings, mostly in the Midwest, that have too many similarities to be coincidental.

The detectives linked those deaths together and believe the "smiley face killers" - a group they say targets college-aged athletic men who leave bars or parties - committed the crimes, leaving the victims in a body of water.

"In our hearts, we do think Todd's death is very, very, very similar to these 'smiley face' gang murders," said Kathy.

"Generally speaking, a victim will know their murderer. In these cases, we would say that these victims are not picked randomly. Generally speaking, the victims are stalked and they are chosen for a very specific reason."

The killers usually leave behind a calling card - a smiley face.

The investigators are looking into five potential "smiley face"-related murders in Michigan - four occurred near the Michigan State University campus and Geib's.

"So even if my son turned out not to be connected to it, it would be a passion of mine to make sure that the FBI went through and investigated every one of these murders. They're too much alike," said Kathy. "This is a lot of other mothers' sons, and it could be any boy that leaves a bar or party tomorrow night. We don't know where they're gonna be or when they're gonna hit."

Geib's family and investigators aren't releasing many details about the investigation as it is in its early stages. The family said the detectives from New York are coming to West Michigan to see if Geib's death is actually connected to the "smiley face" murders.

http://www.woodtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=8851234

[sleddogs]

At first blush this sure seems to fit the profile

Body found in Ohio River is missing Schenley student
Saturday, February 21, 2009
By Sadie Gurman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The body of a Schenley High School senior who went missing more than three months ago was discovered in the Ohio River near New Cumberland, W.Va., police confirmed yesterday, dashing his parents' hopes that he would be found alive.

Joseph Harris, 17, of Sheraden, was last seen by friends Downtown on Nov. 14, when he was boarding a bus bound for Brighton Heights. Workers on a barge in Stratton, Ohio, discovered his body on Feb. 13, about 30 yards off the river's shoreline. Relying on dental records, the West Virginia chief medical examiner's office confirmed the body as Joseph's yesterday.

"Not knowing, I thought that would be the worst feeling I could possibly have," Joseph's father, Joseph Harris Sr., said. "Until I found out my son was dead."

There were no obvious signs of trauma to Joseph's body, but the cause of his death is pending toxicology reports. Police in Hancock County, W.Va., told the Harrises their son had been in the river for as long as a month. Investigators relied on a red Converse All-Star tennis shoe, a white Rocawear sock and a scar on his right shoulder to help them identify the unclothed body, which frigid water had helped to preserve.

Joseph's mother, Carla Harris, called police about midnight on Nov. 15 after her son never returned home from his job at Journeys Shoes in Robinson. He never called home, as he was known to do when running late, and his cell phone was turned off, she said.

Since then, relatives and police fruitlessly pursued countless leads and reports of sightings throughout the city. They passed out fliers, canvassed neighborhoods, spoke with his friends and made sure Joseph's picture appeared on the nightly news.

Pittsburgh police said they aren't sure why Joseph went missing, and their investigation continues. He told friends the night of his disappearance that he was going to meet someone named "G."

"Every day I was hopeful that I would find him," Mr. Harris said. "He was a good kid. He would have done society some good."

Sadie Gurman can be reached at sgurman@post-gazette.com

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09052/950790-53.stm

[sleddogs]

Way to early to speculate of a connection.

Authorities seek to identify body found in Ohio River
Posted: Feb 26, 2009 10:17 PM

LEAVENWORTH, IN (WAVE) - The identity of a body that washed up on the shore of the Ohio River in Leavenworth, Indiana remains a mystery. Investigators tell WAVE 3 a fisherman discovered the body Thursday afternoon. Because of the body's condition, they are now asking for help to find out who the person is.

"The body is in very bad condition," said Indiana Conservation Officer Mac Spainhour. "To the point we can't even tell if it's male or female or what race it would be."

Spainhour says whoever this person is, they have been missing for awhile. He believes the body may have been in the Ohio for months at least and with current water levels, could have floated from as far as Cincinnati.

"On this particular incident, when the water started receding as the body came down it got caught on some rocks and wedged in," said Spainhour. "Then the water went on and receded and that is what exposed the body."

Spainhour says the person is tall, but officials only had a few other identifiers. One was a pair of knee high black dress boots.

"We do have some jewelry," said Spainhour. "If the callers call in that can help us with maybe identifying some pieces of jewelry, that would probably be a big key there."

WAVE 3 asked if there were any signs of trauma to the body or if foul play was suspected, but Spainhour says they would not know until an autopsy was performed.

If you have any information to help identify this person, you are asked to call the Indiana Department of Natural Resources at (812) 837-9536.

http://www.wave3.com/Global/story.asp?S=9915111&nav=menu31_3

[doubledecker]

I have researched the smiley face killers for a while.  I do believe some of these victims actually are victims of a "smiley face killer" "gang"(for a better word).  It seems crazy and unbelieveable, but if you take the time to try to connect up some of these cases, it does seem to have some merit to the theory.  Is anyone else here on the board researching the "smiley face killer" theory?

[Nut44x4]

I wasn't sure where to put this. I may move it later, if I find a better spot...suggestions welcome.

Are college campuses prime locations for serial killers?

From zodiac killers to smiley face gangs, murderers have been hunting college students for decades

A new book from Jan Jenkins, the mother of a victim of the Smiley Face Killer, has got College News thinking: Are college campuses prime locations for serial killers to stalk their prey?

The Zodiac killer attacked his young victims in Northern California in the 1960s. Before these anonymous slayings, college-aged students were not particularly targeted for mass murders. There are few motives to kill someone between the ages of 18-24, until the Zodiac Killer began leaving his cryptogram mark all over San Francisco.

Cheri Jo Bates, an 18-year-old student at Riverside City College in California, was returning to her car from studying in the library. When she tried to start the engine, she was unsuccessful. Upon inspecting under the hood, Bates gave in to a ride from a stranger. This stranger just so happened to be the Zodiac Killer, and Bates was his next victim.

They rode past the library and sat in the car conversing for quite some time. Then strangers heard her shrilling scream. The killer attacked Bates, slashing her three times across the throat, choking her, beating her and then cutting her across the face. To this day, the Zodiac Killer has not been arrested.

Fast forward to almost 40 years later, and Natalee Holloway disappears. Holloway, an 18-year-old incoming freshman to Alabama University leaves after high school graduation for an unofficial senior trip with 124 classmates and 7 chaperones. Just like any other Aruba- bound celebrating teen,

Holloway began drinking early and continued all day. Holloway was last seen leaving an Aruban bar and nightclub around 1:30 a.m. May 30th, 2005. She carelessly got in a car with 3 young men she had met earlier in the evening.

Holloway was scheduled to fly home to Alabama later that Monday, but never made it to the airport. Her packaged luggage and untouched passport were found in her room.

After extensive and grueling search, arrests, then releases, Holloway’s body has yet to be found.

Two years later on the New England coast, Suzanne Jovin a 21-year-old senior at Yale is found stabbed to death.

On Jovin’s last night, she attended a pizza party she organized for the school, then drove a friend home in a Yale issued station wagon. Jovin ran in to a classmate at 9:22 p.m. Jovin’s friend recalled her saying she was “very tired and looking forward to a lot of sleep.” A passerby called police at 9:55 when they walked up to a woman bleeding, face down on the sidewalk. When the police arrived four minutes later, they found Jovin fatally stabbed 17 times in the back of the head and her throat slit. She was pronounced dead at 10:26 at Yale New Haven hospital.

Suspects included Jovin’s thesis adviser, James Van de Velde ,based on a tip that the two were engaged in an illicit affair. Van de Velde has since been cleared from the investigation.

But it’s not just women these killers are after--take Trevor Boehm for example. Boehm was a 20-year-old attending Northwestern University in Illinois.

On November 8th, 2008 Boehm’s parents arrive in Evanston, IL for family weekend only to find that Boehm was missing. He had not been in his residence hall or used his dining card in four days. On November 16, 2008, Boehm’s body was found in Lake Michigan, seven miles south of Northwestern University. Police believe Boehm’s cause of death was drowning, but the Boehm family believes there was foul play.

Dan Zamlen, an 18-year-old freshman at the University of St.Thomas in Minnesota left a party never to be seen again in April 2009. Zamlen was speaking with a friend as he walked along the Mississippi River, and she agreed to pick him up. It was 2:30 a.m. when Zamlen’s friend recalls him shrieking, “Oh my god, help,” before the call ended abruptly.

Friends and family tried reaching Zamlen until the morning when his phone battery died. Zamlen’s body was found in the Mississippi on May 1st, 2009. Police say he got too close to the river and slipped, but many believe Zamlen was abducted.

Skeptics believe the Smiley Face gang has something to do with all these suspicious murders, and are urging local police precincts to dive deeper in to these cases.

Jan Jenkins, the mother of a supposed Smiley Face gang victim has just released Footprints of Courage: Our Family’s Struggle for Justice, a book outlining the horror of her son’s untimely death.

Jenkins relives her grief to urge law enforcement to continue to investigate these peculiar cases in which the same athletic, intelligent, and genuinely well-rounded men are disappearing due to drowning.

Students across the country should take these stories and learn from them.Travel with a group whenever possible--walking alone at night makes you an instant target. Also, turn off those iPods. Being aware of your surroundings makes you less likely to be surprised by an attacker. Keep that cell phone handy in case you need to make an emergency call. If you live in a larger city, consider purchasing something to repel attackers such as mace, pepper spray, or a rape whistle. The more awareness there is surrounding this issue, the more these anonymous homicide cases will become fewer and fewer. 

http://www.collegenews.com/index.php?/article/are_college_campuses_prime_locations_for_serial_killers_10150436339136/