Timothy Krajcir a suspect in two more '70s murders

While Cape Girardeau police are re-examining rapes, robberies and home invasions for links to alleged serial killer Timothy Krajcir, two other jurisdictions have said he may be responsible for two more murders.

Krajcir was linked with the 1979 homicide of Myrtle Rupp, 51, in South Temple, Pa., and the 1978 killing of Virginia Lee Witte of Marion, Ill.

On Monday, Krajcir pleaded guilty to raping and murdering Southern Illinois University student Deborah Sheppard in Carbondale, Ill., in 1982 and received a 40-year sentence.

Monday afternoon, Cape Girardeau police announced that Krajcir confessed to murdering five Cape Girardeau women. Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle charged Krajcir with the five murders that occurred between 1977 and 1982, two related rapes and one unrelated rape.

Krajcir is incarcerated in Illinois for continuous civil commitment on a 1979 conviction under the sexually dangerous person statute. He has distanced himself from programs that could help him work toward release because he says he doesn't want to hurt anyone else, prison records show.

Virginia Witte

Muhlenberg Township, Pa., police reopened Rupp's case several months ago and resubmitted semen samples they obtained from the victim's bedspread to a Pennsylvania State Police lab for testing.

When the DNA evidence was entered into CODIS, the database of DNA from convicted felons, there was a "presumptive hit" linking the case to Krajcir, said Muhlenberg police detective James Pollock.

A detective spent three hours interviewing Krajcir at Big Muddy River Correctional Center in Ina, Ill., on Wednesday, and the results of that interview will be announced today, Pollock said.

During the interview, a fresh DNA sample from Krajcir was obtained by warrant for new testing, because the state lab requires a newer sample to obtain a definitive match.

According to Years of Tears, a Web site dedicated to unsolved Berks County, Pa., homicides, Rupp was found strangled with a sash cord inside her home in South Temple, Pa.

Sheppard and Margie Call, murdered in 1982 in her Cape Girardeau home, were also strangled.

On Thursday, the Marion, Ill., police department announced Krajcir is "a distinct person of interest" is Witte's murder. David F. Witte found his wife's body in their Lakeview Drive home shortly after 1 p.m. that day. The 51-year-old mother of two was found stabbed; police say she was sexually assaulted.

Illinois legal procedures prevent Marion police from confirming or denying whether Krajcir confessed to Witte's rape and murder.

"He has been interviewed," said Marion police detective Tina Morrow.

Morrow said Witte's two sons were "very, very happy" when she called them to tell them the crime may be solved, but they're not ready to talk to the media.

According to Morrow, Witte's sons said their mother "was a very neat, very classy lady. Good things need to be remembered about her."

She said police are still in the process of checking the extensive files detectives gathered in the case, which include "four large boxes of documents and more than 100 pieces of physical and forensic evidence." Some of the evidence will be resubmitted to police labs for DNA testing, she said.

Lt. Paul Echols of the Carbondale police contacted Morrow while he was investigating Sheppard's murder.

"It's all very complicated, how this fits together," Echols said. "It's a piece here and a piece there."

He praised the diligence of Cape Girardeau police detectives in keeping detailed investigation records, particularly of the 1982 murders of Mildred Wallace and Margie Call. Information in those files is being compared to other cases, he said.

Echols said he's "honestly not sure" how many agencies are reviewing cases potentially linked to Krajcir, but said the FBI, state police agencies in Missouri, Illinois and Kentucky as well as a host of county and municipal-level detectives are seeking information on cold cases.

"We've put out the M.O., what to look for," he said.

Morrow said she's contacting retired police detectives who "worked their tails off" trying to solve Witte's murder, as she lines up evidence to support formal criminal charges.

Morrow was among detectives who have recently interviewed Krajcir.

"He's just a little different," she said. "You walk into the room with an open mind and try to collect as much information as possible."

Marion police, with detectives from the Williamson County Sheriff's Department, are also investigating three unsolved sexual assaults and robberies that occurred between March and June in 1982.

News of Krajcir's confession Monday stirred some victims of long-ago crimes to call Cape Girardeau police, looking for connections. Thursday evening, police chief Carl Kinnison said nearly a half-dozen calls came in this week.

"A couple we were able to eliminate completely because of the time frame," he said. Other cases of rape, robbery and home invasion are getting a hard look by detectives.

Kinnison limited his comments on those cases to saying whether more charges will be made against Krajcir depends of the statute of limitations.

pmcnichol@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127