Man arrested in Ariz. ‘Baseline Killer’ case

Suspect spoke about investigation
Barbara Holzapfel described him as a “wonderful guy.” She remembered him talking to her about the Baseline Killer investigation after 37-year-old Carmen Miranda was killed June 29 at a car wash a block away.

“He would say, ‘There are idiots all over the world,”’ Holzapfel said.

Neighbor Su-Ellen Bennett said police officers swarmed the man’s home from the front yard and the alley on Wednesday and also towed away his truck.

The “Baseline Killer” has been linked to 23 crimes in the Phoenix metropolitan area dating to August 2005, including eight killings. The crimes also include 11 sexual assaults of women and young girls and several robberies. The earliest crimes occurred along Phoenix’s Baseline Road, where the name “Baseline Killer” originated.

Reports show the sexual assaults ranged from fondling to rape. In many cases, victims had conversations with the man before they were attacked. He appeared to always have a gun, and often threatened to shoot and kill victims.

Victims usually alone
The Baseline Killer is also thought to wear disguises, strikes in the dark and generally targets people who are alone.

According to reports previously released by the Phoenix Police Department, the man in some cases asked for a ride and even said “thank you” after taking money. A task force of more than 100 officers and detectives has been tracking him for months.

The case is one of two serial predator cases that have shaken the Phoenix area over the past year.

In the other, dubbed the “Serial Shooter” investigation, police arrested Dale S. Hausner, 33, and Samuel Dieteman, 30, early last month. The roommates are charged with murder and attempted murder in 16 shootings, two of them fatal. Both pleaded not guilty.

Police believe Hausner and Dieteman took turns shooting random victims throughout the Phoenix area late at night and early in the morning. Police are investigating a total of 37 random shootings believed to be connected that killed seven people and wounded 17 since May 2005.

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