ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO // Federal agents and police in two states yesterday were searching a Missouri man's business and homes in connection with the discovery of 11 women found buried in the Albuquerque desert.
Police searched a business and two homes owned by a Joplin, Missouri, man, according to the Joplin Globe.
Ron Erwin, 57, owns a health food store and photography business in the southwest Missouri town, near the state's border with Arkansas, Kansas and Oklahoma. His mother, Bulah Erwin, said her son, who previously owned a used book store and collectibles shop, regularly traveled to Albuquerque for the city's famed hot-air balloon festival but had not done so for at least six years.
"It doesn't make any sense why they would focus on him," his mother said. "That's the silliest thing I ever heard of."
The newspaper quoted Albuquerque detective Tod Babcock as saying the man was a person of interest, but police spokeswoman Nadine Hamby denied that the detective specifically named Erwin.
Mrs Hamby said she could not discuss the warrants because they are sealed, as were about a half dozen others served previously. She would not specify the locations for the searches.
Mrs Hamby also stressed that the Missouri warrants were for searches, not arrests.
The remains of the women and a foetus were unearthed in February 2009 after a hiker found bones in a 92-acre area that had been cleared for development.
Authorities have said nearly all the women worked as prostitutes before they disappeared between 2003 to early 2005.
Albuquerque police chief Ray Schultz had said that his department was investigating men who hired prostitutes and were prone to violence. He had said the killer was mostly likely a man who acted alone, but would not elaborate.
* AP
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Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
