I'm interested in testing the feasibility of applying an internet
research approach to solving deadly serious, real-world
problems—problems with components of ambiguity and time constraints. 
In this case, I'd like to collect and organize information which would
be used to identify and locate the so-called "Beltway Sniper," who is
currently on the loose, presumably somewhere in the greater Washington
D.C. area.

I’m not going to list all the known facts of the case here. This is
common knowledge readily available to anyone who is interested from
all news sources. Here, however, from CNN.com, is a link to a summary
of the sniper attacks thus far, which is a decent start:

http://www.cnn.com/interactive/us/0210/map.sniper.trail/frameset.exclude.html

You must pay attention to: all 12 incidents (9 killed and 3 wounded—1
of which is currently in critical condition), the timeframe and
locations in which they occurred, and all known clues (i.e. the “I am
God” tarot card, the questionable witness reporting of a light colored
van, and reliable witness accounts, possibility that the attacks are a
distraction of sorts from Al Qaida or other terrorist groups). Of
course you may also need to follow future incidents which have not yet
occurred at the time of this writing. A knowledge of traditional
criminal profiling and current police and FBI law enforcement methods
is desired, but not necessary.

What I’m looking for is to systematically synthesize this known
information in novel ways, (and if I’m very, very lucky—although I am
of course not expecting this--to attract the attention of someone in
the D.C. area with heretofore unknown witness information or other
first-hand accounts).

I am operating under the hopeful assumption that somewhere on the
Internet, which we researchers all traverse and comb through most
every day of our lives, are hard facts pertaining to the sniper(s).
These facts, I believe, are not all located in secure servers, as with
bank account information, but may be regular, every-day type sites,
such as the website of the sniper(s)’s employer(s), or even his
personal site, or live streaming cams of public or private places, or
a posted schedule of one kind or another which the sniper(s) follows.
(What else can you think of?—please post Comments)

NOTE: When the sniper(s) is apprehended, I will compare what is known
about him (it’s most likely a him) at that time to what was available
via the internet during the killing spree, and then backtrack and see
if I had searched for the right things, if those facts were available
on the net, while he was still on the loose.

I would try back-testing this approach for Son of Sam or Ted Bundy or
another killer with a similar number of kills, but they committed
their crimes before the Internet era. Today, the Internet is a
household utility, and even those with no PC at home have access to
the net through either work, school, mobile devices or public
libraries. (Where does the sniper(s) access the net, and for what
purposes?) I believe this is one of the first serial killers during
the Internet-everywhere era which captivated the public by killing
several people at regular intervals, which leads me to my Actual
Question for all ga-researchers:

[I realize there is a fair amount of set-up here, but that’s because
this is only part one (hopefully) of a many part Question, depending
on the outcome of this first Question.

Here’s the Question:

I want a verifiable list of all apprehended serial killers, sniper or
otherwise, who killed at least 4 people one-at-a-time, 1999 or later,
developed countries only (i.e. not mass-murderers who spray crowds
with bullets or leave bombs, nor suicide bombers and the like, but
one-act-at-a-time serial killers who liked to get away, and who were
on record as killing at least 4 people, and not 3rd world cases where
internet usage is not commonplace).

Then, knowing everything about them that was released after their
arrest, I want to know what information about them which could have
led to their arrest before their last killing was available on the
Internet, had you known what to search for—employer’s website,
personal site, Church they belonged to’s site, whatever. That’s all.
All I care is if it was on the net during their crime spree—for
example, Killer X worked during his crimes at Restaurant Y, and
Restaurant Y had a website up at URL http://www.restaraunty.com during
that time.

[From that information, I will search the internet for that info which
you provide, to see what it “feels like,” if you will, to enter
successful patterns of search that would have worked. I will then, of
course, attempt to apply that strategy to the current unsolved case,
as I learn more. (Yes I know that I wouldn’t have known which site to
go to were it not for the info of where they worked or whatever being
released after they were caught, but this is my starting point.)

Thank you for your involvement,

~omniscientbeing-ga

---

Clarification of Question by omniscientbeing-ga on 20 Oct 2002 21:36 PDT

To all: Please do not actually Answer this Question before this
Wednesday morning (10/22) to allow time for quality Commenting, should
there be an interest in it.

Thank you,

~omniscientbeing-ga

---

Clarification of Question by omniscientbeing-ga on 20 Oct 2002 21:53 PDT

Let's see what 500+ expert internet researchers can do to catch this
sniper, one Question at a time, starting with this one. After all,
what is the bulk of most detective work but the elucidation and
management of information, and are we not supposed experts on
uncovering facts on the Information Superhighway? Dig deep, people,
the answer's probably out there, and it's worth an awful lot.

~omniscientbeing-ga

---

Clarification of Question by omniscientbeing-ga on 22 Oct 2002 05:45 PDT

OK, the sniper has apparently struck again, early Tuesday. In an
effort to speed things up, disregard my earlier qualifier that this
not be Answered until Wednesday, and please answer it now, ASAP. Let's
go.

Thank you all for your comments so far.

~omniscieentbing-ga

What a brilliant idea! Best of luck ... Sorry but I have nothing to
contribute but I am posting this comment so that I can monitor your
progress (by searching for all my postings).

Now, I've had a chance to think!

First, the sniper is almost certainly Male. (Women are not famous
either as snipers or serial killers.) And he probably lives within 15
miles of the site of his first victim. So, list all such residents
(from Social Security records?)

Then, list members of local gun clubs (and hunting clubs, if such
things exist)because he's obviously had to practise and show off his
skills somewhere.

Similarly, list all local subscribers to shooting magazines, etc.

Also, list all purchasers of supplies from gun shops within the region
from the credit card records, as far back as the records go. (Include
mail order, if he could have bought any of his supplies in this way.)

Finally, list all the owners of white vans in the region.

The chances are that the sniper will appear on more than one of these
lists.

I will be interested to see how closely he matches the above profile.

I've been doing lots of research on this myself... I have to for a
class, I'm a forensic psychology major.  I'll be more than happy to
give you all of my research later (when I have more time).   But chew
on this for right now:

1)  I agree with probonopublico that the sniper is male.  Not only are
men more prominently agressive type killers, they are also in better
positions for sniper training (military, etc.).  Also, studies have
been done - very very rarely will a woman shoot someone in the head or
face (cosmetic issues).

2)  There seems to be a correlation (possibly accidental) with the
Michael's stores.  One shot was fired into a Michael's store.  Two
additional shots were fired at people in Michael's parking lots. 
Three more that I've looked at (the school, Exxon gas station, and
Home Depot) were next to Michael's.  You may want to check any kind of
Michael's press release etc.  I found one that describes the hiring of
a new CEO (which made the Maryland paper on 9/29).  Long shot, but
possiblity.

3)  Agree again with the checking of gun shops, gun training,
military/police, etc.  This person is obviously a trained shooter.

4) *I* believe he holds a white collar job.  (Or none at all) He's
intelligent, methodical - and appears to "be busy" from 10-6, 9-5.  
He's also confident enough to pull this type of thing off.

5)  He knows the Maryland/DC/Virginia area extremely well... probably
further north (considering the time it took him to plan the latest
one, which was further south). Focus on these areas.

6) A police buff - you can tell by the interest in his own media, and
the want/need for communication with the cops.  You may want to look
at records of individuals who have been discharged/fired or turned
away from the force.


I have more research (concrete) that I've done on this, will be happy
to pass along later.  I also have information relating to the other
post 1999 cases you asked for.. again, I can post that tomorrow.

Thanks for posting such an intriguing comment,

-Rebekah

PS - This may be of interest, it's excerpts of an FBI case file of a
very similar sniper situation:
http://www.fbi.gov/publications/leb/1996/aprl962.txt

PS - You may want to look into Thomas Dillon (or I can for you).  He
was a similar type of situation, a sniper in Ohio - however he had
about 4-5 kills, and some of them were stretched out over time (weeks
or several months).  However, this was in the 1990s, getting into the
internet-age.

-Rebekah

In my opinion, I think that this situation is best left to the real
experts, the law enforcement community in those areas.

We do NOT have access to any real evidence and it would arrogant of
anyone to assume that we could track down this sick coward by using
our vivid imaginations.  This is a dangerous situation and I feel that
we would be placing innocent people in harm's way, if we were to post
unfounded theories or ideas.

The media is giving enough attention to this unfortunate situation,
and the public does not need to be sidetracked by an opinion that may
be expressed on this website.

Also, this coward seems to get satisfaction from his "celebrity
status" and I do not want to contribute to his ego in any way, shape
or form.

As a native of Oklahoma, I know what it is like to witness terrorism. 
My friend was the only one in her department to survive the Oklahoma
City bombing.

The history books probably will never mention the name of my
courageous friend, although she struggles everyday to live with the
horrible flashbacks and reminders of the day that changed her life
forever.

Timothy McVeigh's name, however, will never be forgotten.  In my
opinion, that is exactly what he wanted and the reason he committed
such a heinous act upon his own people.

Unfortunately, this cowardly sniper has also achieved this goal, and
knows that the impact he made on history will last much longer than
his physical body.

In my opinion, this coward is no different from McVeigh, and I will
not do anything to satisfy his lust for attention.

This will be my only comment on the subject, but I felt I needed to
express my opinion.  I hope I can persuade others to seriously
consider the damage that may be caused by playing psuedo-detective.

I commend anyone willing to divulge information that may help to put
this coward in prison, but this is not an avenue we need to be
exploring as GARs...it is dangerous.

There may be someone out there that knows something, but is scared to
come forward.  My hope is that courage will prevail and this situation
will come to an end.

As for the reward, as far as I am concerned, there is not enough money
in the world that would cause me to contribute anything that may help
to stroke the ego of this sick coward.

My thoughts and prayers are with those in the DC and surrounding
areas.

madsky101

Madsky101 has a point but the Oklahoma incident is history and the
killer has already been identified.

The sniper is current and, so far not postively identified, so the
friends and relatives of his victims are probably hoping and praying
that everyone is doing everything in his or her power to help.

I think we need to define the word 'sniper' The word does not
necessarily mean he is an accurate shooter at great distances, and as
far as I´m aware none of the shootings have been carried out over long
distances.  Now, what you call a great distance varies, but the
longest recorded sniper hit was more than 2500 (two thousand five
hundred) yards (in Vietnam) So it doesn´t necessarily follow that he´s
had any formal military/police training.
I think in this context the word sniper means what it says in Websters
dictionary:  "to shoot at exposed individuals (as of an enemy's
forces) from a usually concealed point of vantage"


"One entry found for snipe.
 
"Main Entry: 2snipe
Function: intransitive verb
Inflected Form(s): sniped; snipˇing
Date: 1832
1 : to shoot at exposed individuals (as of an enemy's forces) from a
usually concealed point of vantage
2 : to aim a carping or snide attack
- snipˇer noun "

Sniper's latest victim has died. 10 kills. Question needs an Answer
now.

I have setup a calendar tool in MS Project 2000 to track the crimes,
and a database in MS Access 2000 to query for specifics.

Hi,

Are you going to make your Calendar & Database avialable to others (e.g. me)?

And, if so, how?

Good luck!

Bryan

probonopublico,

Thank you for your participation thus far, I appreciate it. There is
no way to post files to Google Answers as of yet, so I can't just post
them, and I don't have time to make them accessible from my own
personal website right now. I will, however, share any information I
glean from them in the form of the Questions I will continue to ask of
the service in our attempt to catch the sniper(s).

~omnsicientbeing-ga

In my reading of thrillers, I've come across the idea of a "spotter",
an accomplice to a sniper who, with the aid of binoculars, tracks
"targets", and also gives advice on recalibration after misses.

Maybe a search on high-performance binocular sales linked to gun sales
would be fruitful?

Willie

Hi, omniscientbeing

Understood!

Keep up the good work, anyway.

Regards

Bryan

It was my birthday on the 22nd (Don't ask!) and I had dinner with two
delightful young women: my daughters.

They pointed out that most vans are white and that white vans seem to
be commonplace at the scene of many crimes.

Consider monetary motives.

I thought that it was strange that the 'sniper' wanted law enforcement
to use the phrase "caught like a duck in a noose."  I've never heard
this phrase ever before, so wanted to see where it originated.
 The only reference I found to it, was in old Native American
folklore.  You can read the tale here: 
http://tsalagi-l.net/rabduck.html

 Also, I'm wondering, do any of you know if this is a hunting
reference?

-Forensic Chick

Well, it seems our Snipers have been caught. I'm going to be closing
this Question unless someone answers it soon, but I thought I would
post a final comment and thank everyone here for their participation
in this experimental trial.

If you should like to answer the question by summarizing what could
have been found online about the snipers from what is known now, I
will gladly accept that.

~omniscientbeing-ga