Man Calling Self ‘Messenger of Lord’ Rapes 3 Women

A man identifying himself as “St. Peter, messenger of the Lord,” has raped three women in Long Beach in the last two weeks after cutting off most of their hair and carving upside-down crosses on their backs, police said Monday.

The women, all in their early 20s, accepted rides from the man, said Long Beach Police Sgt. C.S. Roberson. After raping them, the man dumped them out of the car naked, leaving them in industrial sections of Long Beach.

“(The rapist) says he is there to redeem the women in the face of God,” Roberson said. “That’s why he cuts off their hair, to give them a cleansing before they meet the Lord. He says the hair is a token for the devil or for Satan.”

All of the assaults have occurred between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m., Roberson said. All of the victims are described as slender women in their early 20s with long hair.

The first assault took place Sept. 16, when a woman was picked up near the intersection of Long Beach Boulevard and 6th Street, Roberson said.

A second woman was raped on Sept. 21 after being given a ride near the corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Linden Avenue. The third woman was raped Friday after accepting a ride near the intersection of Ximeno Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway, police said.

The victims told police that after being picked up by the man, he began to rant about God and religion, while threatening them with an eight-inch knife. They were taken to remote sites near the harbor, where they were raped, Roberson said.

The suspect is described by police as a white man with blonde hair, 28 to 35 years old, and between 5 feet, 9 inches, and 5 feet, 11 inches tall. Police said he is driving a beige Volvo with a sunroof and tinted windows.

Police are also attempting to determine if there are any links between the rapes and the shooting death of a woman in her early 30s whose nude body was found Sunday morning on the Carson Street underpass of the Long Beach Freeway.

The woman, not yet identified by police, was apparently shot at another location and her body dumped on the freeway, police said. A motorist discovered the body at 7 a.m. Sunday and notified police.