Molestation Linked to Slayings of 2 Boys

Sex was apparently the motive in the recent slayings of two young boys along the Otay River, police say.

One boy was sexually molested before both were strangled, authorities said.

“The whole terrible ordeal those poor little guys went through--I can only imagine what they went through,” Homicide Lt. Greg Clark said. “I’m talking about fear.”

The bodies of Jonathan Sellers, 9, and Charles Keever, 13, were found March 29 along the west bank of the Otay River. They had been missing for two days, and were last seen at a neighborhood hamburger stand.

Family members and neighbors have given investigators more than 180 tips, but none has led to a suspect.

Investigators have interviewed all 20 to 25 transients who live in the wooded areas along the riverbanks, Clark said.

“Even though they come from all walks of life--they have every kind of problem you might imagine--they still have kind of a code,” Clark said of the transients.

Police have released few details about the slayings.

Clark said the FBI is assembling a psychological profile of a person capable of committing such a crime.

Also, investigators have contacted the state Department of Justice, which maintains a directory of registered sex offenders categorized by region and crimes. “They’re helping us with backgrounds on people who may or may not be capable of this crime--anybody who would do this out of the blue,” Clark said.