Police in Davis, California are on the hunt for a possible serial killer.
In the past week, three people have been stabbed under similar circumstances in the quiet college town – two of them fatally. In two of the attacks, witnesses described a suspect matching the same description. He's a young man around 5’6’’ to 5’9’’ with curly hair.
The killings have left the community on edge. The victims appear to be random. On Twitter, some UC Davis College students complained that they felt unsafe and were surprised that the university had not canceled classes as a precaution.
The Victims
The first victim, David Breaux, was killed on April 27 in Central Park. Breaux was affectionately known as Davis’ “compassion guy” because he would stand around the park asking visitors their definition of compassion. He was a graduate of Stanford University who successfully lobbied the city to add a “compassion bench” at the corner of 3rd and C Streets in 2013, the mayor and police chief recalled.
Two days after Breaux was killed, a 20-year-old UC Davis student named Karim Abou Naim was stabbed to death at Sycamore Park. Naim was on his way home from an undergraduate awards ceremony. He was getting ready to graduate and already had two jobs lined up, his father said.
The third victim is an unhoused female who was stabbed multiple times inside a tent at a homeless encampment on 2nd and L streets. She survived.
A Lone Monster?
Experts who spoke to the Sacramento Bee believe this is the work of a serial killer. At a city council meeting Tuesday, Davis Police Chief Darren Pytel acknowledged that was a “reasonable” assumption. The police department is enlisting the help of a criminal profiler to definitively determine whether this is the work of a single killer.
UC Davis Beefs Up Security
Although classes have not been canceled, UC Davis officials have announced several additional security measures. UC Davis Police have increased on-campus security patrols and are bringing in additional officers from UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco.
Chancellor Gary S. May urged students not to go out at night, especially if they are alone. Classes that are held after 6 p.m. will be conducted virtually for the time being. The university has also extended hours for its Safe Ride program. Rides from campus into the city will now be available to students from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m. every day. Some private businesses in Davis have also been closing early.
Northern California and the Sacramento region in particular have a long history with serial killers. I-5 killer Roger Kibbe, East Area Rapist Joseph James DeAngelo, and Dorothea Puente all claimed the lives of innocent victims around the Sacramento area.