KXXV-TV News Channel 25 - Central Texas News and Weather for Waco, Temple, Killeen | Authorities turn to community for help in catching serial rapist

Authorities turn to community for help in catching serial rapist

by John Cuoco

CENTERVILLE- Hundreds of Leon County residents packed the courthouse Monday night, asking questions and hoping for answers about a serial rapist targeting elderly women in four Texas counties.

At the meeting, rather than going into every exact detail of their investigations, authorities from Bell, Falls, Lavaca, and Leon counties, all where attacks have taken place, turned to the community for help.

"We're doing the best we can to catch this guy, but we need your help, you are in the public, you know what goes on around your houses," Leon County Sheriff Jerry Wakefield said.

Just hours after DNA linked the suspect to all four counties where women have been assaulted, Wakefield explained to the crowd how they need to join together to catch the serial rapist.

It's an idea that bodes well with County Judge Byron Ryder.

"This way people will be more informed about this then they have ever been," he said. 

Ryder says, it's also an attempt to make those in fear over this feel more at ease.

"I've been frightened ever since, I have nightmares, it's disturbing," Timothy Johnson, a Leon County resident, said

"We have to be real careful now, it could happen to any of us," another resident added.

Authorities gave those in attendance suggestions on how to keep themselves safe.

All to avoid being the next victim, even if some had already taken their safety into their own hands.

"I got a gun, and I'm pretty good with it, and I'm not afraid to shoot," that same resident explained Monday.

News Channel 25 has been told that along with the Texas Rangers and the U.S. Marshals, the FBI has been called in to help in this investigation.

What we know:

• The suspect has attacked women in Falls, Leon, Lavaca, and Bell Counties.
• Out of eight total attacks, five have occurred along Highway 53 and Highway 7.
• All victims have been elderly women living along.
• The attacks occur in the late evening or very early morning.
• Brick faced homes have been targets.

What to do to stay safe:

• Close and lock your windows at night.
• Keep exterior lights on and night lights on inside your house.
• Keep a cell phone close by in the event your house phone is disabled.
• Obtain a personal noise device such as a whistle, life alert, horn, etc.
• Know your neighbors and check on each other.