Eastbound Strangler

Four dead bodies of women identified as sex workers were found in a drainage ditch filled with shallow water on November 20, 2006{{cite web | url=http://serialkillers.briancombs.net/3027/victims-of-the-eastbound-strangler/ | title=Victims of the Eastbound Strangler | date=February 6, 2011 | access-date=March 17, 2014 | author=Brian Combs | archive-date=March 17, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140317213746/http://serialkillers.briancombs.net/3027/victims-of-the-eastbound-strangler/ | url-status=dead }} behind the Golden Key Motel{{cite web | url=https://www.foxnews.com/us/atlantic-city-authorities-eye-more-than-one-person-of-interest-in-2006-unsolved-prostitute-murders/ | title=Atlantic City authorities eye 'more than one' person of interest in 2006 unsolved prostitute murders | publisher=Fox News | date=July 20, 2013 | access-date=March 17, 2014 | author=Cristina Corbin}} on the Black Horse Pike in Egg Harbor Township, situated on the outskirts of Atlantic City, New Jersey.{{cite web | url=http://www.guardianangels.org/pdf/1667.pdf | title=Angels Join Hunt For Serial Killer | date=December 6, 2006 | access-date=March 17, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101125220551/http://guardianangels.org/pdf/1667.pdf | archive-date=November 25, 2010 | url-status=dead }} All of them were placed face down{{cite web | url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/LegalCenter/story?id=2683554 | title=N.J. Police Suspect Serial Killer in Four Slayings | work=abc News | date=November 28, 2006 | access-date=March 17, 2014 |author1=Lauren Pearle |author2=Chris Francescani |author3=Elizabeth Kolleeny }} in a row, facing east, about sixty feet apart from each other. They were clothed except for having their shoes and socks removed.{{cite AV media | people = M. William Phelps (presenter) | date = 8 May 2014 | title = Dark Minds – The Eastbound Strangler | medium = Video | url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-OSVoD0HC0&list=PL48544492E92EEE46&index=47 | accessdate = 13 November 2014 | minutes = 2 mins 22 secs | location = Atlantic City | publisher = Dark Crime via YouTube | quote = I need to pick up his trail before he kills again }} They were believed to have been strangled to death.

41-year-old repairman Terry Oleson, who was being allowed to stay for free at the Golden Key Motel in exchange for repairs when the murders took place, was implicated by his girlfriend as the killer. They were reportedly having a domestic dispute at the time. In Oleson's room, investigators found cameras set up and images of his girlfriend's teenage daughter undressing. There have been no DNA matches to connect Oleson with the crimes and he was never named as a suspect.

Eldred Raymond Burchell, who had given himself the nickname of the "River Man" (possibly reference to Green River Killer Gary Ridgway), was suspected after he had confessed to another prostitute that he had killed people. However he has not been connected to any murders.{{cite web |title=10 Grisly Hotel Homicides That Are Still Unsolved |url=https://steemit.com/life/@qq985725850/10-grisly-hotel-homicides-that-are-still-unsolved |website=Steemit |access-date=13 January 2020 |language=en |date=18 January 2018}}

Charles Coles, a drug dealer and a friend of Kim Raffo; was questioned by police but released without charge,{{cite web |last1=Klatell |first1=James |title=Beyond The Boardwalk |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/beyond-the-boardwalk/5/ |website=www.cbsnews.com |access-date=13 January 2020 |language=en |date=May 18, 2007|page=5}} as was Mark Hessee, an acquaintance of Kim Raffo and Barbara Breidor.{{cite web |last1=Klatell |first1=James |title=Beyond The Boardwalk |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/beyond-the-boardwalk/6/ |website=www.cbsnews.com |access-date=13 January 2020 |language=en |date=May 18, 2007|page=6}}

In 2010, law enforcement officials investigated a possible connection between the Eastbound Strangler and the Gilgo Beach serial killings{{cite web | url=https://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/bodies-long-island-beach-serial-killer-loose/story?id=12399090 | title=Are Atlantic City Murders Tied to N.Y. Serial Killer? | work=ABC News | date=December 15, 2010 | access-date=March 17, 2014 |author1=Andrea Canning |author2=Eamon McNiff |author3=Josh Einiger }} but later ruled it out.{{cite web | url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/long-island-serial-killer-diving-teams-search-underwater/story?id=13364545 | title=Long Island Serial Killer: Investigators to Use High-Tech Planes in Search for Bodies | work=abc News | date=April 13, 2011 | access-date=March 17, 2014 |author1=Andrea Canning |author2=Josh Einiger |author3=Richard Esposito |author4=Emily Friedman |author5=Jessica Hopper }} In 2023, the theory on a connection between the two cases was revisited following the arrest of a suspect in four of the Gilgo Beach killings, according to Suffolk County police;{{Cite web |date=2023-07-20 |title=State Police: Heuermann Investigated for Ties to 2006 Black Horse Pike Homicides |url=https://abc7ny.com/rex-heuermann-gilgo-beach-suspect-atlantic-city/13525989/ |access-date=2023-07-20 |website=ABC 7 New York |language=en-US}} prosecutors later ruled it out again.{{Cite web |date=2023-08-01 |title=No known link between Gilgo Beach murder suspect, Atlantic City slayings: Prosecutor |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/no-known-link-between-gilgo-beach-murder-suspect-atlantic-city-slayings-prosecutor/ar-AA1eDUOx?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=578ac5431e184e3caf9ca1a5da7a4c71&ei=9 |access-date=2023-08-01 |website=ABC News |language=en-US}}

• Barbara V. Breidor, 42 — Worked as a sex-worker and reportedly struggled with cocaine addiction. She disappeared in October 2006 but was not reported missing for several weeks. Identified through dental records,{{cite web |last1=Klatell |first1=James |title=Beyond The Boardwalk |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/beyond-the-boardwalk/2/ |website=www.cbsnews.com |access-date=13 January 2020 |language=en |date=May 18, 2007|page=2}} her body was so badly decomposed the cause of death could not be determined.
• Molly Jean Dilts, 20 — Originally from Black Lick, Pennsylvania, she was last seen alive a few days before her disappearance. She was the only victim not to have a record for sex-work, but was believed to be working as a sex worker. She was believed to have been the first to be killed and her body was so badly decomposed the cause of death could not be determined.
• Kim Raffo, 35 — Former waitress originally from Canarsie, Brooklyn, she was a wife and mother who was involved with sex work in Atlantic City. Last seen alive a day before the bodies were discovered. She was believed to be the last of the four victims to be killed and was strangled with a rope or cord.
• Tracy Ann Roberts, 23 — Former erotic dancer{{cite web | url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/authorities-search-home-of-ex-motel-worker-during-probe-of-4-dead-atlantic-city-prostitutes/ | title=Authorities Search Home of Ex-Motel Worker During Probe of 4 Dead Atlantic City Prostitutes | publisher=Associated Press | date=April 3, 2007 | access-date=March 17, 2014}} and originally from a small town in Delaware,{{cite web |last1=Klatell |first1=James |title=Beyond The Boardwalk |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/beyond-the-boardwalk/1/ |website=www.cbsnews.com |access-date=13 January 2020 |language=en |date=May 18, 2007|page=1}} was also a sex worker in Atlantic City and struggled with drug addiction. Last seen alive in November 2006 when she was hit in the throat and hospitalized by a man who wished to be her pimp. She had been asphyxiated.

Investigation Discovery's Dark Minds, hosted by M. William Phelps, aired an episode on the case. February 2, 2012.{{cite web |title=The Eastbound Strangler {{!}} Dark Minds |url=https://www.investigationdiscovery.com/tv-shows/dark-minds/full-episodes/the-eastbound-strangler |website=Investigation Discovery |access-date=13 January 2020 |date=2 February 2012}}

The case was featured in episodes 3 ("Danse Macabre") and 4 ("A Darkness on the Edge of Town") of The Killing Season.{{cite web |last1=Hickey |first1=Brian |title=Watching 'The Killing Season' with the man once suspected in four Atlantic City murders |url=https://www.phillyvoice.com/watching-series-about-serial-killers-man-who-many-thought-murdered-ac-prostitutes/ |website=www.phillyvoice.com |access-date=13 January 2020 |date=November 14, 2016}}

The case was mentioned in the 2021 Lifetime movie "The Long Island Serial Killer: A Mother's Hunt for Justice," which also dedicated itself in part to the four victims, which seemingly linked it to the Long Island Serial Killer case.{{Cite web|date=2021-02-19|title=Who Were The 4 Women Murdered By 'The Atlantic City Serial Killer?'|url=https://www.oxygen.com/true-crime-buzz/atlantic-city-serial-killer-murdered-4-women-in-2006|access-date=2021-02-25|website=Oxygen Official Site|language=en-US}}

The case was covered on the true-crime podcast Method & Madness, Episode 77 The Path: Murders in Atlantic City https://www.methodandmadnesspodcast.com/episodes/77-the-path-murders-in-atlantic-city

• List of fugitives from justice who disappeared
• List of serial killers in the United States

{{reflist}}

• [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2837002/ Dark Minds: The Eastbound Strangler]
• [http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15723416-the-eastbound-strangler The Eastbound Strangler (Behind the Scenes of Investigation Discovery's "Dark Minds")]
• [http://www.stalkinc.com/profile2.htm Eastbound Strangler profile]

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Category:2006 crimes in New Jersey

Category:2006 murders in the United States

Category:21st-century American criminals

Category:Crimes against sex workers in the United States

Category:Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey

Category:Violence against women in New Jersey

Category:Murder in New Jersey

Category:Serial killers from New Jersey

Category:Unidentified American serial killers

Category:Unsolved murders in the United States

Category:Year of birth unknown

Category:Possibly living people