Police Tie 22 Attacks on Women to 1 Man

Police in four Southern California communities said Thursday that one man may be responsible for a series of 22 rapes, attempted rapes and burglaries of mostly older women in the last 10 months.

The latest attack came Tuesday night in Anaheim, where a 71-year-old woman was raped by an intruder who entered her home through an open window while she slept, a method similar to that in 21 other cases in Anaheim, Fullerton, Claremont and Santa Ana over the last 10 months.

“If we compare the method of entry, time period and the description (of the attacker) we have from the other incidents, there’s a strong possibility that the same person is responsible,” said Anaheim Police Lt. Bill L. Wright. “However, we have no physical evidence that it’s just one person.”

A dozen of the crimes against older women have occurred in Anaheim since Dec. 12, including three in the last month, Wright said. In one instance, a woman died of a heart attack after calling police about an intruder.

“We have, here in Anaheim, 12 incidents where there’s a strong possibility that the same person is responsible,” he said.

Police investigators in Fullerton, Santa Ana and Claremont say similar crimes, with victims giving similar descriptions of their attacker, have prompted them to work closely with the authorities in Anaheim.

“We’re going strictly by method of operation,” said Fullerton Police Sgt. Wade Richmond. “This person attacks elderly white women late at night. He attacks them during a deep sleep, commits a rape, and uses threats of injury if they don’t cooperate.”

In Fullerton, four rapes during March seem to fit the pattern, Richmond said. The women were between the ages of 38 and 64. All lived alone, and all were asleep or preparing for bed when the intruder entered their homes through unlocked doors or windows.