Arrests Seen as Near in Florida Serial Killings

Arrests in the serial killings of five college students are expected “in the near future,” police said Wednesday, amid reports that lab tests have tentatively linked one man to the scene of one of the murders.

“We have made significant progress. There will be arrests in the near future,” Gainesville Police Chief Wayland Clifton said.

“The case has become more and more focused, and we’re confident in the near future . . . we feel like this case will reach a successful conclusion, and that means apprehension.”

Several times Clifton spoke of “arrests” and “apprehensions,” indicating there are at least two suspects.

His statement was released after a newspaper said Wednesday that results of genetic testing had tied one man already in custody to the August murders.

The Gainesville Sun quoted unidentified sources as saying that police were awaiting more conclusive DNA test results on semen found at one crime scene.

That man is not Edward Humphrey, a mentally disturbed former University of Florida student once considered a key suspect, the newspaper said.

The newspaper said that, because the latest suspect is already in custody, authorities likely would seek a grand jury indictment in the student murders.

The man apparently was not in Alachua County, although it was unclear where he was being held.

The police chief did not comment directly on the newspaper report.

The chief also said the Gainesville community had reason to feel “much safer.”

Investigators had said previously that the killer spent a long time, perhaps several hours, at some or all of the murder scenes. He apparently cleaned himself, the bodies and the scenes to remove evidence, but police still managed to get a genetic “fingerprint” from semen found at one site.

Since that DNA lab test came back in October, police have taken blood samples from many potential suspects.