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Examples: [Collected via e-mail, March 2003]Hi friends and family. I know that with all the psychos out there, we still think that something couldn't really happen to us, right? Wrong! As most of you know, I live in Alexandria, but I work in Lafayette where I stay with friends when I'm there.As you know from America's Most Wanted TV program as well as the news media, there is a serial killer in the Lafayette area. I just want to let you know about an incident that happened to me a few weeks ago that could have been deadly.At first I didn't go to the police or anyone with it because I didn't realize how serious this encounter was. But since I work in a jail and I told a few people about it, it wasn't long before I was paraded into Internal Affairs to tell them my story.It was approximately 5:15 am in Opelousas, La. I had stayed with a friend there and I was on my way to work. I stopped at the Exxon/Blimpie station to get gas. I got $10 gas and a Diet Coke... I took into the store two $5 bills and one $1 bill. (just enough to get my stuff) As I pulled away from the store, a man approached my truck from the back side of the store (an unlit area). He was an approachable-looking man (clean cut, clean shaven, dressed well, etc.) He walked up to my window and knocked. Since I'm very paranoid and always looking for the rapist or killer, I didn't open the window.... I just asked what he wanted. He raised a $5 bill to my window and said You dropped this. Since I knew I had gone into the store with a certain amount of money.... I knew I didn't drop it. When I told him it wasn't mine.... he began hitting the window and door and screaming at me to open my door and that I had dropped the money! At that point, I drove away as fast as I could.After talking to the Internal Affairs department and describing the man I saw and the way he escalated from calm and polite to angry and volatile.... it was determined that I could have possibly encountered the serial killer myself. At this point, it is unclear as to how he gains access to his victims since there has been no evidence of forced entry into homes, etc. And the fact that he has been attacking in the daytime when women are less likely to have their guard up... and what gesture is nicer than returning money to someone that dropped it????? How many times would you have opened your window (or door) to get your money and say thank you.... because if the person is kind enough to return something to you...then he can't really be a threat.... can he????Please be cautious! This might not have been the serial killer... it probably wasn't... but anyone that gets that angry over someone not accepting money from them, can't have honorable intentions.[Collected via e-mail, March 2009]Rapist's New Trick -- Please take 3 minutes and read this .... then pass it on.RAPIST TRICKKnow what money you are carrying.. You will see why as you read.Be sure every woman is aware of this method of operating. Share it withthose you love. Know what money you are carrying. This was the first Ihave heard of a scheme like this. Be safe! Something very serious topay attention to.Criminals are coming up with craftier, less threatening methods of attack, so we have to be extra cautious.Read on about the author who lives in Alexandria, VA.I live in Alexandria, VA, but I often work in Lafayette, LA, stayingwith friends when I'm there. As you know from America 's Most Wanted TVprogram, as well as the news media, there is a serial killer in theLafayette area. I just want to let you know about an incident thathappened to me a few weeks ago, and could have been deadly.At first I didn't go to the police or anyone with it because I didn'trealize how serious this encounter was. But since I work in a jail and Itold a few people about it, it wasn't long before I was paraded intoInternal Affairs to tell them my story. It was approximately 5:15 a.m.In Appaloosas, La. I had stayed with a friend there and was on my way towork.I stopped at the Exxon/Blimpie Pie station to get gas. I got $10 gasand a Diet Coke. I took into the store two $5 bills and one $1 bill (justenough to get my stuff). As I pulled away from the store, a man approached mytruck from the back side of the store (an unlit area).He was an approachable-looking man (clean cut, clean shaven, dressedwell, etc.). He walked up to my window and knocked. Since I'm veryparanoid and 'always looking for the rapist or killer,' I didn't open the window.I just asked what he wanted. He raised a $5 bill to my window and said,You dropped this. Since I knew I had gone into the store with acertain amount of money, I knew I didn't drop it.When I told him it wasn't mine, he began hitting the window and door,screaming at me to open my door, and insisting that I had dropped themoney! At that point, I just drove away as fast as I could.After talking to the Internal Affairs Department and describing the manI saw, and the way he escalated from calm and polite to angry and volatile... it was determined that I could have possibly encountered the serialkiller myself.Up to this point, it had been unclear as to how he had gained access to his victims, since there has been no evidence of forced entry intovictim's homes, cars, etc. And the fact that he has been attacking in the daytime, when women are less likely to have their guard up, means he is pretty BOLD.So think about it...what gesture is nicer than returning money tosomeone that dropped it?????How many times would you have opened your window (or door) to get your money and say thank you ...Because if the person is kind enough to return something to you, then he can't really be a threat ... can he??Please be cautious! This might not have been the serial killer... But anyone that gets that angry over someone not accepting money from themcan't have honorable intentions. The most important thing to note is that his reaction was NOT WHAT I EXPECTED! A total surprise! But what mighthave happened if I had opened my door? I shudder to think!Forward this to everyone you know ... maybe they can be as fortunate as I was!PS Ladies, really DO forward this to EVERYONE you know. Even if this man wasn't a serial killer, he looked nice, he seemed polite, he wasapparently doing an act of kindness, but HE WAS NOT A NICE PERSON!Men, send it to all the women in your life. What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it. Make it agood one!Please forward to anyone you think might benefit from this story. Variations: A version that began circulating in July 2003 changed the line:It was approximately 5:15 am in Opelousas, La. I had stayed with a friend there and I was on my way to work. I stopped at the Exxon/Blimpie station to get gas.to:It was approximately 5:15 a.m. in Flint, MI. I had stayed with a friend there and I was on my way to work. I stopped at the Admiral station to get gas.The claim This happened in Tallahassee ... be careful! was added to some of the forwards in May 2004.In July 2004 we saw versions that asserted It was approximately 7:15 a.m. in Berea, OH. I had stayed with a friend there and was on my way to work. I stopped at the speedway station to get gas.An October 2007 version placed the story in Australia (i.e., the letter writer was positioned as someone who lives near the Blue Mountains but often works at North Ryde, the TV show that alerted her to a serial killer in the area was Australia's Most Wanted TV program, the gas station she stopped at was the Caltex Station to get petrol, and she reported the incident to the Internal Affairs Department).Origins: In 2002, south Louisiana became the hunting grounds of a serial killer who has claimed the lives of five women, employing several different methods during his killing spree. Prior to the capture of Derrick Todd Lee, the suspect indicted for the May 2002 beating and stabbing death of Charlotte Murray Pace (and linked by DNA to the murders of five more women in the area), those living in that area had become especially fearful, a condition that worked to spawn numerous rumors about the identity of the murderer and how he might be trapping those he intended to kill. The e-mail quoted above is but one of a number of cyber-circulated missives detailing presumed close calls with the killer, as every unusual encounter which in less fright-filled times would have passed without comment then became a brush with death. Here are two others, both collected in January 2003: Hello friends-I am writing to tell you all about an incident that happened tonight (Sunday) at the Wal-Mart here in New Iberia. This is not a chain letter or urban legend as it really happened to me just a little while ago. Like an idiot, I went to Wal-Mart at 7:30 at night. While I was in the candy aisle, getting Valentine candy for my Godchildren, a white guy started talking to me. He was looking at candy just like I was so I didn't notice him at first. Anyway, he began to ask me questions about my shoes, were they comfortable, did they give me blisters, how did I keep them on my feet, etc. Just chatting. (I was wearing my nun shoes; Brown leather slip on shoes) They are very comfortable but not very, trust me. Well he was already kneeling down to look at candy and as he was talking to me, he reached over and touched my shoe and then moved his hand around to the back of my shoe and brushed my skin. Lightbulb moment-this is not normal. I don't let strangers touch my feet unless I am paying them for a pedicure. I moved away quickly and as I was moving, he asked if I would help him pick some out like mine for his sister. Another lightbulb. I told him no and got away as quickly as I could. During my shopping trip, I asked an employee to have someone walk me out. (The guy came walking up behind us as we talked and he turned off quickly when he saw me talking to an employee. When I told her the story, she called a manager. When I told her what happened, she asked me to talk to the police who happened to be there for another reason. She told me that they have had several complaints at the Abbeville store of a man doing the same thing, following the women in the store, and then following them home. The policeman walked me out. The guy had short hair, a goatee, an earring in his bottom lip (a stud below the lip), wore a greenish/gray polar fleece pullover with baggy jeans.I am not sending this to scare you but to let you know to be aware. As paranoid as I have been about the serial killer stuff, I was a prime target tonight. Gullible, easy, trusting. Be careful. Send this to women you know.A woman thinks she may have encountered the serial killer in Metairie.The Friday before the Super Bowl (Jan. 24), this woman went into Foodies (Foodies is next to Dorignac's on Vets between Oaklawn and the Orleans Parish line.) to pick up lunch. While waiting in line to put her order in, she felt someone staring at her. She looked up and saw a man smiling andstaring. She thought it might be a student from one of her classes. She smiled back then gave her order. She walked around the store for a few minutes waiting for her order. She noticed the man following her andcontinuing to stare. Once she got her order, she went straight to the check out line. She noticed the man had moved to near the front doors. She didn't return his gaze anymore and just walked to her car. She mentioned to two other men outside that there was a man following her. She got in her car and drove away from Foodies & Vets toward I-10. She looked up and saw the man in a car behind her and he was waving to her frantically...as if to say there was something wrong with her car. She immediately called 911. The guy saw her on the phone and did a fast U-turn and drove toward Vets, crossing three lanes of traffic to get away. The vehicle he was driving was not the white truck that the media has reported being driven by the serial killer, but a red car with temporary tags. The 911 operator said to call back if he came back again.The woman was upset, to say the least, and mentioned this to another friend. That friend suggested she look into the serial killer website. She saw the sketch of the person of interest and said it looked just likethe man at Foodies! When she thought about it in hindsight she realized the man never bought anything from the store. He was just hanging out there. So she contacted the task force hotline and gave them a complete report. She also contacted the manager of Foodies. He said that several employees also saw this man a few days earlier just loitering.What to make of these harrowing tales? The paucity of clues to the identity of the serial killer contributed to the state of uncertainty: because no one knew what he looked like or how he selected his victims, no one encountered under suspicious circumstances could be safely ruled out. Take the case of the foot fondler mentioned in one of the variants (en)
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