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Serial killer of homeless persons is captured
During the past month, as homeless memorials sprung up in Oakland, across the state and around the nation to honor those that died on the streets homeless and in poverty during the past year, a serial killer of homeless men was lurking the streets of Orange County!
Serial killer of homeless persons is captured
by Lynda Carson -- January 14, 2012
Oakland -- To the relief and the horror of the homeless community in Orange County and throughout California, on early Saturday morning January 14, 2012, Itzcoatl Ocampo, of Yorba Linda, California, was booked in the Anaheim jail as a suspect in the recent cold blooded stabbing killings of four homeless people, that have occurred since December, 20, 2011.
The recent spate of killings have terrorized the homeless population nearby, and throughout the state. As the blood of the homeless people flowed onto the wealthy streets of Orange County during nearly the past month, the homeless persons on the streets wondered if they were going to be next to die at the hands of the serial killer.
Itzcoatl Ocampo is being held without bail, and is expected to be transferred to Orange County Jail sometime next week, after being caught for the stabbing death of a homeless man named John, a Vietnam veteran. John, died of fatal stab wounds in the parking lot of a Carl's Jr. Restaurant, late Friday night in Anaheim.
During a press conference on January 14, the police have reportedly linked the stabbing death of the homeless man named John, and the brutal activities of Itzcoatl Ocampo with the recent killings of three other homeless men nearby in Orange County.
It was also reported that on January 14, that mourners appeared at the crime scene and wept over the death of the homeless man known as John, where they left some emotional signs and flowers to show their grief, and that a candle light vigil was scheduled for later that same evening on Saturday night.
Since his capture and arrest, Ocampo is believed by authorities to be the serial killer of several other homeless people in the area, and the police have already tied the killings of four homeless people to Ocampo since his arrest late Friday night Jan. 13, after the fourth homeless man was found murdered in a parking lot of a Carl's Jr. Restaurant, in Anaheim.
Anaheim is the home of Disneyland, a wealthy affluent suburb of Los Angeles.
State records report that Ocampo, age 23, is the owner of 4805 Via Del Buey, a 4-bedroom home that was built in 1984, in nearby Yorba Linda. Records further reveal that the state of California is holding $89.55 in back wages for Ocampo, from when he worked for the Stater Brothers Markets. There's a Staters Brothers Market located at 18527 Yorba Linda BLVD., in Yorba Linda.
Leaving a trail of homeless men left to die on the cold hearted streets of wealthy Orange County since mid December, Ocampo was finally captured by a policeman after being chased on foot by witnesses and bystanders from the latest crime scene, after stabbing his most recent victim on Friday night in the parking lot of Carl's Jr. Restaurant.
Before the capture of Ocampo on late Friday, a task force was recently created by local police agencies and the FBI to find the killer of the three other homeless men stabbed to death, and the Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs had recently offered a $5,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the deaths of James McGillivray, age 53, murdered on Dec. 20, Lloyd Missaugh, age 42, murdered on Dec. 28, and Paulus Cornelius Smit, age 57, who was stabbed to death on Dec. 30.
During the recent serial killings of the homeless population, the homeless have been urged by authorities to stay in shelters at night, and to stay out of the shadows as a precaution when sleeping on the streets at night, and to sleep with others in a group when possible, in an effort to stay alive. It was reported that three of the people killed, were attacked and stabbed to death while they were sleeping alone.
Despite the warnings from the authorities for the homeless to stay in shelters at night while the serial killings were taking place, it was a false hope being offered for the poor homeless population being terrorized on the streets of California.
There are not nearly enough homeless shelter beds available in Orange County, or the state of California to house the thousands of homeless families left on the streets to die, due to all of the state and federal budget cuts that have shredded the nations housing programs during past years.
As recent as December 8, 2011, residents of Oakland gathered at St. Mary's Center, an organization that offers shelter and services to the local homeless population and senior citizens, for a Homeless Memorial to honor the lives lost during the past year of those living homeless, and in poverty on the cold hearted streets of Oakland.
Oakland, Berkeley, and San Francisco have a large homeless population, and many of the homeless people in the East Bay have managed to survive on a daily basis with the help of Street Spirit Newspaper, which the homeless are allowed to sell for a dollar a copy, and are allowed to keep the money that they make as local newspaper vendors.
Lynda Carson may be reached at tenantsrule [at] yahoo.com
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Update: Latest Stabbing Victim & Serial Killer Of Homeless Persons
John the homeless man has been identified as John Berry, age 65.
The suspect, Itzcoatl Ocampo, age 23, was arrested for the stabbing death of John Berry, and the police have allegedly linked the recent stabbing deaths of three other homeless men, to Itzcoatl Ocampo.
News reports claim that Itzcoatl Ocampo is a 2006 graduate of Esperanza High School in Yorba Linda, and is a deeply disturbed and troubled former Marine who served in Iraq / Afghanistan, that was hearing voices after returning from Iraq.
According to the records of the Orange County Jail, Itzcoatl Ocampo has already been transferred to the Orange County Jail from the Anaheim Jail since his arrest late Friday night.
Booking Information From Orange County Jail:
Inmate Name: ITZCOATL OCAMPO
Date of Birth: 03-20-1988
Booking Number: 2677935
In Custody At The Orange County Jail:
Itzcoatl Ocampo is scheduled for a court appearance on Tuesday Jan. 17, 2012 according to sources.
John the homeless man has been identified as John Berry, age 65.
The suspect, Itzcoatl Ocampo, age 23, was arrested for the stabbing death of John Berry, and the police have allegedly linked the recent stabbing deaths of three other homeless men, to Itzcoatl Ocampo.
News reports claim that Itzcoatl Ocampo is a 2006 graduate of Esperanza High School in Yorba Linda, and is a deeply disturbed and troubled former Marine who served in Iraq / Afghanistan, that was hearing voices after returning from Iraq.
According to the records of the Orange County Jail, Itzcoatl Ocampo has already been transferred to the Orange County Jail from the Anaheim Jail since his arrest late Friday night.
Booking Information From Orange County Jail:
Inmate Name: ITZCOATL OCAMPO
Date of Birth: 03-20-1988
Booking Number: 2677935
In Custody At The Orange County Jail:
Itzcoatl Ocampo is scheduled for a court appearance on Tuesday Jan. 17, 2012 according to sources.
some of psych drugs actually make people see things that aren't there! these are dispersed freely in society. hallucinations like seeing people wearing different clothing that they did a moment ago!!! very dangerous drugs!!!
Update: Serial killer of homeless persons
The following is a press release that came out of the Orange County Districts Attorney's Office on January 17, 2012.
(LC)
Press Release -- January 17, 2012
http://tinyurl.com/7o8gjax
Remarks by Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas
Itzcoatl Ocampo Charges
January 17, 2012
Thank you all for coming. We have with us Anaheim, Brea/Yorba Linda, and Placentia Police Departments, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department William O'Leary Assistant, Special Agent in Charge, Los Angeles Field Office, FBI.
I would like to commend the Homeless Homicide Investigative Task Force involving these agencies for their tireless, swift work to gather the evidence on this case.
There are many members from the task force here today, and I would like to give them a round of applause for their tireless hard work for the last month.
I also want to commend the citizens whose brave actions led to the apprehension and filing of the charges against this defendant.
Today, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office filed four counts of special circumstances murder/ with allegations that there were multiple murders/ and that the murders were committed while lying in wait, and with the use of a deadly weapon.
If 23-year-old Itzcoatl Ocampo is convicted, he faces a minimum sentence of life without the possibility of parole.
These charges also mean Ocampo is eligible for the death penalty.
The investigation of this case is ongoing and we do not have all of the information to make that decision:
As is customary in all special circumstance cases other than mass shootings – I will be convening the Special Circumstances Committee at a later date to announce that decision.
There are going to be some members of the public who feel less sympathy for these victims because they were homeless/and some had criminal records.
Often, these types of victims are preyed upon because the perpetrator does not believe anyone would care about/ or miss them. I am proud to live in a community where we do care about the more vulnerable members of our community. We saw it in the Kelly Thomas case, and we see it here.
As this case was being investigated and the facts were coming to light, I became increasingly concerned about the viciousness of these attacks.
I wondered whether this murderer would ever quench his thirst to kill and who his next victim might be.
Thanks to the actions of witnesses and great work by these agencies, we are now able to prosecute this defendant in the criminal justice process/ where Mr. Ocampo will be afforded all of his rights under the law.
These victims were not given the same chance.
This case began with the first murder on December 20th of last year. In 10 days, three homeless men were murdered in North Orange County.
All of the victims were stabbed multiple times, and the autopsies showed that the weapon in all three cases was “remarkably similar.”
Victim number one -- December 20, 2011. 53-year-old James McGillivray.
This was the key to the case because the incident which took place at a commercial complex at 140 N. Bradford Avenue in Placentia was caught on surveillance video and we were able to get the information out to the public.
While wearing dark pants and a black hooded sweatshirt, the defendant is accused of walking quickly with clear purpose to where Mr. McGillivray was lying, kneeling on the victim’s chest, and mounting him.
The defendant is accused of stabbing him more than 40 times, before and after the victim stopped struggling.
Victim number two -- December 27, 2011. 42-year-old Lloyd “Jimmy” Middaugh. The defendant is accused of stabbing this victim more than 50 times on the Santa Ana River Trail under the 91 Freeway underpass in the City of Anaheim.
Victim number three – December 30, 2011. 57-year-old Paulus “Dutch” Smit recently became homeless when the home he had been living in was deemed uninhabitable by code enforcement.
The defendant is accused of stabbing the victim more than 60 times at the Yorba Linda Public Library located at 18181 Imperial Highway in the City of Brea.
In each of these cases, the violence and the number of times each victim was stabbed increased.
The Orange County Crime Lab pathologist concluded that the weapon used was “remarkably similar if not the same weapon,” a single-edge blade at least seven inches long and made of a heavy gauge material. The blade had gone through bone without chipping or breaking the blade.
This is what we believe is the murder weapon, a Ka-bar Bull Dozer.
The fourth and final murder is the most brazen.
As you know, a taskforce was formed and this case was heavily covered by media, both print and broadcast.
The fourth victim in this case was featured and pictured in this Los Angeles Times article.
We believe that the evidence will show that the defendant specifically sought this victim out for participating in this article, the defendant relished the media attention of the crime, and he stalked the victim until he got his prey.
Victim number four – January 13, 2012. 64-year-old John Berry.
Several 911 calls came in reporting that a homeless man was being stabbed at 5735 E. La Palma in Anaheim.
Witnesses chased the suspect wearing a black hoodie eastbound on La Palma. The witnesses lost the suspect at the Mobile Home Park at 5815 E. La Palma Ave.
Anaheim Police Sergeant Bob Dunn arrived and found the victim suffering from multiple stab wounds. Mr. Berry was pronounced dead at the scene.
A perimeter was established and the defendant was contacted within the perimeter.
A blood hound utilized by Orange County Sheriff’s Department and a team of Orange County Deputy Sheriff’s found personal belongings of the defendant and the knife which is believed to have been used in the killings.
The defendant had blood on his hands and face when caught, and he was identified in in-field lineups.
Investigators located bloody clothing including a black hoodie, gloves, and a KA-BAR knife near where the defendant Ocampo was apprehended.
We will be proving that the defendant planned the murders in advance, stalked his victims looking for the right opportunity to execute them, and that he had additional victims already selected.
I want to commend the bravery and the alertness of the citizens who saw and chased the defendant, and the great work by these agencies to take this dangerous defendant into custody before there are any more victims.
Our job is just beginning and we will make sure that we bring this defendant to justice, and send a message out that we are going to protect all members of our community.
The following is a press release that came out of the Orange County Districts Attorney's Office on January 17, 2012.
(LC)
Press Release -- January 17, 2012
http://tinyurl.com/7o8gjax
Remarks by Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas
Itzcoatl Ocampo Charges
January 17, 2012
Thank you all for coming. We have with us Anaheim, Brea/Yorba Linda, and Placentia Police Departments, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department William O'Leary Assistant, Special Agent in Charge, Los Angeles Field Office, FBI.
I would like to commend the Homeless Homicide Investigative Task Force involving these agencies for their tireless, swift work to gather the evidence on this case.
There are many members from the task force here today, and I would like to give them a round of applause for their tireless hard work for the last month.
I also want to commend the citizens whose brave actions led to the apprehension and filing of the charges against this defendant.
Today, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office filed four counts of special circumstances murder/ with allegations that there were multiple murders/ and that the murders were committed while lying in wait, and with the use of a deadly weapon.
If 23-year-old Itzcoatl Ocampo is convicted, he faces a minimum sentence of life without the possibility of parole.
These charges also mean Ocampo is eligible for the death penalty.
The investigation of this case is ongoing and we do not have all of the information to make that decision:
As is customary in all special circumstance cases other than mass shootings – I will be convening the Special Circumstances Committee at a later date to announce that decision.
There are going to be some members of the public who feel less sympathy for these victims because they were homeless/and some had criminal records.
Often, these types of victims are preyed upon because the perpetrator does not believe anyone would care about/ or miss them. I am proud to live in a community where we do care about the more vulnerable members of our community. We saw it in the Kelly Thomas case, and we see it here.
As this case was being investigated and the facts were coming to light, I became increasingly concerned about the viciousness of these attacks.
I wondered whether this murderer would ever quench his thirst to kill and who his next victim might be.
Thanks to the actions of witnesses and great work by these agencies, we are now able to prosecute this defendant in the criminal justice process/ where Mr. Ocampo will be afforded all of his rights under the law.
These victims were not given the same chance.
This case began with the first murder on December 20th of last year. In 10 days, three homeless men were murdered in North Orange County.
All of the victims were stabbed multiple times, and the autopsies showed that the weapon in all three cases was “remarkably similar.”
Victim number one -- December 20, 2011. 53-year-old James McGillivray.
This was the key to the case because the incident which took place at a commercial complex at 140 N. Bradford Avenue in Placentia was caught on surveillance video and we were able to get the information out to the public.
While wearing dark pants and a black hooded sweatshirt, the defendant is accused of walking quickly with clear purpose to where Mr. McGillivray was lying, kneeling on the victim’s chest, and mounting him.
The defendant is accused of stabbing him more than 40 times, before and after the victim stopped struggling.
Victim number two -- December 27, 2011. 42-year-old Lloyd “Jimmy” Middaugh. The defendant is accused of stabbing this victim more than 50 times on the Santa Ana River Trail under the 91 Freeway underpass in the City of Anaheim.
Victim number three – December 30, 2011. 57-year-old Paulus “Dutch” Smit recently became homeless when the home he had been living in was deemed uninhabitable by code enforcement.
The defendant is accused of stabbing the victim more than 60 times at the Yorba Linda Public Library located at 18181 Imperial Highway in the City of Brea.
In each of these cases, the violence and the number of times each victim was stabbed increased.
The Orange County Crime Lab pathologist concluded that the weapon used was “remarkably similar if not the same weapon,” a single-edge blade at least seven inches long and made of a heavy gauge material. The blade had gone through bone without chipping or breaking the blade.
This is what we believe is the murder weapon, a Ka-bar Bull Dozer.
The fourth and final murder is the most brazen.
As you know, a taskforce was formed and this case was heavily covered by media, both print and broadcast.
The fourth victim in this case was featured and pictured in this Los Angeles Times article.
We believe that the evidence will show that the defendant specifically sought this victim out for participating in this article, the defendant relished the media attention of the crime, and he stalked the victim until he got his prey.
Victim number four – January 13, 2012. 64-year-old John Berry.
Several 911 calls came in reporting that a homeless man was being stabbed at 5735 E. La Palma in Anaheim.
Witnesses chased the suspect wearing a black hoodie eastbound on La Palma. The witnesses lost the suspect at the Mobile Home Park at 5815 E. La Palma Ave.
Anaheim Police Sergeant Bob Dunn arrived and found the victim suffering from multiple stab wounds. Mr. Berry was pronounced dead at the scene.
A perimeter was established and the defendant was contacted within the perimeter.
A blood hound utilized by Orange County Sheriff’s Department and a team of Orange County Deputy Sheriff’s found personal belongings of the defendant and the knife which is believed to have been used in the killings.
The defendant had blood on his hands and face when caught, and he was identified in in-field lineups.
Investigators located bloody clothing including a black hoodie, gloves, and a KA-BAR knife near where the defendant Ocampo was apprehended.
We will be proving that the defendant planned the murders in advance, stalked his victims looking for the right opportunity to execute them, and that he had additional victims already selected.
I want to commend the bravery and the alertness of the citizens who saw and chased the defendant, and the great work by these agencies to take this dangerous defendant into custody before there are any more victims.
Our job is just beginning and we will make sure that we bring this defendant to justice, and send a message out that we are going to protect all members of our community.
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