Suspect who shot self may have assaulted other women, Cape police say

With the suspect still in an intensive care unit, two women have come forward with claims that he may be the same man who tried to sexually force himself on them in the days -- and in one case minutes -- before he allegedly attacked a woman at gunpoint last Sunday near a Cape Girardeau trail.

The women each went to the Cape Girardeau Police Department on Wednesday, a day after the media reported the police pursuit of the suspect, which ended when the suspect shot himself in the head rather than be taken into custody.

The women say descriptions of the suspect's physical appearance and the vehicle he was driving were the same as the man who allegedly propositioned them for sex in broad daylight in and near public recreation areas.

Police have yet to identify the suspect, who remained hospitalized late Saturday at Saint Francis Medical Center. Charges have yet to be filed against the man, though police have said they are pending.

A 45-year-old woman reported that she was approached by a man in Capaha Park at about 2 p.m. Feb. 29. She told police he made comments to her that made her uncomfortable. He then attacked her, she said, holding down her arms, grabbing her and trying to kiss her, according to police spokesman Darin Hickey.

She was able to flee to her vehicle without further incident. After the woman saw news reports of the suspect in the black Mazda pickup, she recognized it as the one driven by the man who assaulted her. Hickey said she did not tell police why she didn't report the incident sooner.

The second woman said that what happened to her took place March 4, the same day and just about a half-hour before the suspect allegedly pulled a gun on a woman who had been walking along Cape LaCroix Recreational Trail near the Osage Centre.

The 47-year-old woman said she was eating lunch in her vehicle in a parking lot near a carwash adjacent to the trail on Mount Auburn Road when a black pickup pulled into the lot near her. The woman told police he got out of his truck, talking on his cellphone, and walked back and forth in a spot near the trail.

The man walked up to her vehicle and made a lewd sexual suggestion twice. She quickly backed her car out and left. The man did not display a gun in either of these instances, Hickey said. The second woman told police she didn't report it sooner because she thought he "just had problems."

She also recognized the truck from media reports and decided to tell police. She gave the same description to police of the suspect's physical appearance.

Police are still investigating whether the same man was involved in all three incidents, Hickey said. They also have yet to make contact with the passer-by who rushed to the aid of the woman who was assaulted at gunpoint. She apparently heard the victim's shouts and went into the wooded area where the victim had been taken, which prompted the attacker to flee.

Police are also maintaining daily contact with Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle's office. On Friday, Swingle said that he advised the department not to make the suspect's identity public right now. Swingle said if the man dies, the investigation would close and his name would be released then. His name would also be released if formal charges are filed.

As it is, Swingle said he suggested not releasing his name. There also is no rush to charge the man, who is incapacitated at the hospital. Charging him now, Swingle said, would be financially irresponsible.

"If we charge him, the county becomes liable for his medical bills," Swingle said. "So we're not in a hurry to do that."

The victim allegedly assaulted at gunpoint March 4 was contacted at her workplace Friday but declined to comment. Her husband, reached at home, declined to make a statement without permission from his wife.

A Saint Francis Medical Center spokeswoman would not release condition information, saying that the suspect's mother declined consent. But Cape Girardeau County Coroner John Clifton said Saturday he had not received notice of the suspect's death.

The man, who is thought to be from Decatur, Ill., was identified as the suspect in the March 4 attack when the victim notified police. She went to the Cape Girardeau Police Department with the license plate number. After the suspect fled, he did not immediately return to his truck, which he had left in a nearby parking lot near the victim's car. When she returned to her car, the suspect's vehicle was still there. Hickey said there was a 2 1/2-hour delay from the time of the incident to the time of the report. The suspect's vehicle was not there when police later checked.

After his description and vehicle type were made public through the media, an apartment manager told police she believed he was staying at Boulevard Apartments, 45 S. West End Blvd. Police tried to apprehend him there Tuesday afternoon, but he backed his truck out, pushing an unmarked patrol car out of the way so he could make his escape. A low-speed chase ensued. Police deployed stop-sticks to deflate his tires. The suspect exited his truck, pointed his gun at an officer, who used his vehicle to knock the suspect down. That's when the suspect shot himself in the head.

eragan@semissourian.com

388-3627

smoyers@semissourian.com

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Pertinent address:

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