A serial killer is stalking prostitutes along Tamiami Trail. Metro-Dade homicide detectives now have four bodies to prove it.
On Tuesday, police confirmed that a woman found murdered on Friday was a prostitute with a drug habit who had been strangled, like three others before her.
The fourth victim of the strangler, who is apparently targeting prostitutes working Tamiami Trail between Southwest 43rd and 67th Avenues, was identified as Wanda Crawford, 38, of Miami.
Also like the others, her body was dumped from a car in a residential area, to be found by startled residents.
“The victim was a known prostitute who frequented the same areas as the other victims,” police spokesman William Kinnebrew said.
Detectives are seeking the public’s help in catching the killer and in warning prostitutes of the dangers of working Southwest Eighth Street. They will hold a news conference today.
The string of murders began on Sept. 17, when the body of Lazaro Comesana, 27, a male prostitute who worked dressed as a woman, was found strangled.
Next came Elisa Martinez, 44, who worked the same stretch and was HIV-positive. Her body was found on Oct. 8.
On Nov. 20, the third body, that of Charity Fay Nava, 23, was found. The killer apparently had painted large, black letters on Nava’s back. Police have not revealed what the letters spelled or whether the killer had left markings on the other victims.
Police have stepped up patrols along Tamiami Trail in an effort to scare away prostitutes and customers.
