Serial killer puts SUPD, students on alert

Students returning to Southern University for the fall semester received chilling news of a possible serial killer lurking the streets of the Baton Rouge area.
“I didn’t want to come back when I heard the news of the serial killings,” said Sheryl Bethea, a sophomore psychology major from Bastrop. “Whenever I go out, I make sure I travel with a group.”
This sense of uneasiness was sparked by the unsolved murders of three Baton Rouge women: Gina Green in September 2001, Charlotte Murray Pace in May, and Pam Kinamore in July.
According to police officials, all three deaths have been linked to forensic evidence found at each crime scene.
The Southern University Police Department has joined forces with local authorities to make students aware of the importance of safety on campus and within the community.
“Students need to utilize services and familiarize themselves with the resources around them,” said SUPD Chief of Police Dale Flowers. “It could mean their life.”
According to Flowers, the department has installed 16 new security cameras, started an evening shuttle service, and added police officers on bikes to its arsenal.
Flowers said the added features “…Can’t solve crime but can help fight it.”
“Through community policing, we hope to tear down the walls between the department, students, faculty and staff,” Flowers said.
Officials from the Baton Rouge Police Department and the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office have offered valuable information to students through a series of seminars and workshops.
In a recent safety seminar, sponsored by the Women Initiative Project Center, Fabian Blache, Jr., administrative assistant for the Sheriff’s Office, pointed out several things that students, primarily females, do to put themselves at a potential risk.
“We aren’t vigilante enough,” said Blache. “We tend to focus on what were doing and not our surroundings.”
Blache cited cell phones as one of the biggest distractions among females.
He also stressed the importance that students know where local law enforcement agencies are located outside the boundaries of Southern.
The fourth district police station for BRPD is located at 8227 Scenic Highway near the foot of the Harding Blvd. Overpass and the Scotlandville Sheriff’s substation is located at 1270 Rosenwald Road. Both agencies service Southern University and the surrounding area.
As of press time, the Baton Rouge Area Homicide Task Force investigating the serial killings has not pinpointed a suspect. However, a partial profile was released Tuesday.