The victim had been picked up at an Oklahoma City truck stop, later strangled to death and dropped, naked, under a bridge in the Tallahatchie River in Mississippi. In 2003, the body of Jennifer Hyman, a prostitute out of OKC, was found a few days after disappearing. It’s the victims in Oklahoma that stand out as potential links to the Lawton killings. Later, Williams claimed to have killed upwards of 30 prostitutes over the course of two decades. Cumberland, his girlfriend, was charged as his accomplice. Williams is a long-haul trucker who was arrested in 2004 for the murder of 20 year-old prostitute Nikki Hill. John Robert Williams and Rachel Cumberland This being said, there are some theories circulating around as to who could have killed these women, and possibly more. Sympathy, when it comes to prostitutes and drug addicts, is a pretty dry well. Often a killer who targets these at-risk populations gets away with it for decades, simply because our culture expects those types of people to turn up dead anyway. Their victims already play a dangerous game. This is especially true of those who prey on prostitutes. Serial killers are notoriously difficult to track down. But detectives still had the suspicion the killer, or killers, were still out there that some other community was now being terrorized. The killings in Lawton seemed to stop in 2003.

Those who did ran into credibility flaws, as they were often drug users and criminals themselves. Despite the fact a lot of people knew who they were, very few will willing to discuss the crimes with police. Most had lived there quite some time, save for Pamela who had recently moved to the area following a stint in prison. Investigators eventually drew a link between the victims, concluding that the same person or persons had killed the girls between 19.Īll of the women were from Lawton. Most had traces of drugs in their bodies, usually cocaine. Victims were usually found in or near moving water, such as creeks or rivers.Įach victim was stripped naked and dumped near or inside bodies of water. Her remains were found in a ditch five years later near the town of Cole. She lived on Cache Road and disappeared in 2003. In all, five prostitutes were killed by the Lawton Serial Killer.Īdditionally, some suspect a local teen, Tanja Marie Hook, 17, also fell victim to the serial killer. (A lot of the girls were from decent families, so it wasn’t uncommon to see desperate mothers and fathers trying to pry their daughters away from the lifestyle.)įive months later, Cassandra’s body was discovered beneath a bridge in Jefferson county. As always, people in the area hoped for the best: that 25 year-old Cassandra Lee Ramsey had gotten clean, got off the street, maybe moved in with family to get her life straight. Months later, in October, another local prostitute went missing. Traces of cocaine were found on Jane’s body as well. Many of the girls who worked the area also had drug habits, which kept them on the street even when their lives were on the line. Featuring low-rent motels and liquor stores, it was prime real estate for those who walked the darker side of life. Jane was a prostitute, one of many girls who worked the area along Cache Road. Cache Road was known as a hotbed of criminal activity, including prostitution. Unfortunately, Jane’s profession also did a lot to keep the pool of suspects vast, nearly uncountable. Still, there was enough to determine she had been murdered. By the time Jane’s body was found the combination of decomposition and water had done well to hide potential evidence. Floating in the Sandy Bear Creek was the nude body of 28 year-old Jane Marie Chafton, last seen in Lawton.Īt first it seemed like a rather ordinary, if tragic, murder. Or, at least, that was when the first victim was found. It began during the sweltering Summer of 1999. It was the perfect place for an entrepreneurial serial killer to set up shop.

Drugs, prostitution, and murder were plentiful all the unfortunate hallmarks of a growing metropolis. In the late 90s and early 00s crime had become an unfortunate norm. Of course, as any city grows it’s sure to attract the seedier side of business too. Today the city boasts about its connection to arts and humanities, recreational hot spots, and of course its convenient accommodations for those visiting nearby Fort Sill. It became the site of wars and skirmishes during its territorial days confrontations with native peoples that still leave scars that stretch into the present. Lawton has a long, sometimes troubled history, as many places in Oklahoma do.

Unsolved serial killers 2016