Police Trim Serial-Killing Team Further

As the anniversary of the first Clairemont-University City serial killing approaches next week, San Diego police officials said Thursday that they will continue to reduce the number of detectives working on the case as the 3,000-tip caseload is reduced.

Since the death of Tiffany Paige Schultz last Jan. 12, the number of detectives assigned to investigate the fatal stabbing of five women in their homes in the Clairemont-University City area rose from a five-person homicide team to a high of 27 detectives following the most recent killings of Pamela Gail Clark and her daughter, Amber, on Sept. 13.

Also being investigated are the slayings of Janene Marie Weinhold on Feb. 16 and Holly Suzanne Tarr on April 3.

The contingent of detectives now stands at 18 and will gradually be reduced over the coming weeks, Lt. Gary Learn said Thursday at the department’s weekly press briefing on the case.

Learn said several of the detectives have been promoted, and others that he borrowed from other units will return to regular duty as they finish checking out their share of the tips.

The investigation is “still a seven-day-a-week operation,” Learn said. There is still a considerable amount of work to be done, and a few leads still come in from the public, he said. All of the tips have been evaluated and assigned to detectives for follow-up.

“I am concerned” about the case going over into the new year unsolved, Learn said. “We’ve put a tremendous amount of personnel resources on the case, but we have not been successful.”

Learn said the detectives feel frustrated on occasion, but “we’re still 100% committed.”

The Police Department has received calls from across the nation in response to the composite drawing of the suspect it sent to law enforcement agencies.

The latest was a call last week from Eureka, he said. But that suspect was eliminated as a possibility.

Based on witness descriptions, the serial killer is said to be a dark-skinned man, from 5-foot-7 to 5-foot-10, with a medium build and short hair that is dark and curly.

“This threat is still in all likelihood out there, and all we need is one vital piece of missing information” that could lead to an arrest, Learn said in an appeal to the public for further information.

Detectives have interviewed several hundred people as possible suspects, and some were worthy of further scrutiny, but “good potential and proof are two different things,” he said.