‘Railroad Killer’ Case Draws Calls on Possible Links

Police departments across the nation with unsolved slayings are contacting Texas authorities to ask about the rail-riding fugitive who investigators have connected to eight killings in three states.

“We have had some other law enforcement agencies who have asked to compare, and there are some comparisons going on as we speak,” said Don K. Clark, the FBI agent leading the Houston-based task force pursuing Rafael Resendez-Ramirez, on Thursday.

Ramirez, a 39-year-old Mexican, is wanted for questioning in connection with five killings in Texas, one in Kentucky and two earlier this month in Illinois, where he faces capital murder charges.

Investigators believe the tattooed ex-convict is making his way from town to town by hopping freight trains. All of the slayings took place near railroad tracks, and most of the victims were bludgeoned. Ramirez’s fingerprints were found at the scenes of some of the killings, they say.

The FBI said he was last reported seen in Louisville, Ky., a week ago. Investigators are stepping up efforts in Kentucky and the El Paso border area, where he has relatives.

The task force hotline has received nearly 1,200 calls, including several reported sightings of the drifter and inquiries from law enforcement officers around the country about possible connections to cold cases.

Police have declined to reveal any specific clues that might link the cases.

In North Texas, Wise County Sheriff Phil Ryan said authorities with cases that fit Ramirez’s profile should check out the facts without rushing to judgment.

“I feel sorry for whoever does catch him, because they’ll be bombarded with requests for DNA and other evidence,” Ryan said.

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Rafael Resendez-Ramirez was later determined to be an alias. Stories July 14-29, 1999 use the name Angel Maturino Resendez; stories after July 29, 1999 use the spelling Angel Maturino Resendiz.

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