Jen Thomas
Locals are beginning to fear a serial killer is on the loose after the 16th body was pulled from Houston's bayous - despite assurances from officials.
A retired detective has shared his thoughts following the latest discovery as a man's body was pulled from the White Oak Bayou on Wednesday (October 8).
The grisly find came after five bodies were found within just five days across the city's waterways last month.
The city's mayor, John Whitmire, hit back in September at claims of a killer: "We do not have any evidence that there is a serial killer loose in Houston, Texas.
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"So, I’m before you today to let you know that enough is enough of wild speculation. It’s very frustrating to me to be at home, watch the news, or social media, and see people spread what I know to be false."
A retired detective has now shared his concerns about the case and the way it is being handled.
Joseph Giacalone is a retired NYPD sergeant and criminal justice professor at Penn State-Lehigh Valley, who says: "Something is afoot.
"A coincidence? Unlikely. A careful inspection of each case is warranted, including the 48 hours prior to the discovery of their disappearance."
Police have said there are no obvious signs of foul play on the body recovered this week.
Records from the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences show that up to October 1, 22 bodies have been recovered from bayous across the county this year, Click2Houston reports.
Four of the victims drowned, with at least two of the cases involving drugs or alcohol according to toxicology results.
One was ruled to have been a sudden cardiac death linked to hypertensive heart disease and hypothermia, while another was ruled a suicide from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The other causes are still pending or being investigated.
19 of the deaths were men and three were women, with the majority being aged between 29 to 55 years old.
Council Member Letitia Plummer said: "This community wants answers, and we will deliver them, we don’t want assumptions. We don’t want rumors. Families deserve the truth.”
Kevin Gannon, another retired officer who was an NYPD sergeant, says he thinks the bayou deaths could be connected to the 'smiley face killings'.
The 'smiley face killings' are related to the deaths of young, college-aged men who have been found across the US.
Gannon told Fox News: "We’ve never seen drowning numbers like this before, especially with a drowning occurring every other day in the same location."
Gannon holds the belief that a group known as the 'Smiley Face Killers' are responsible for drowning deaths across the US.
While some of the people pulled from the bayous are older than the usual 'victims' of the alleged group of serial killers, he added: "That doesn’t mean they couldn’t be involved in killing these older individuals also, as they feel like they are pretty invincible right now and can act with impunity due to the police response."
But Kim Rossmo, a professor at Texas State University, says serial killers are unlikely to drown their victims.
He said: "Serial killers stab or strangle or sometimes shoot, but drowning is uncommon.
"And one of the reasons is, if you think about it, it's really hard to kill somebody by drowning. There's a lot of steps involved and a lot of chances for people to escape, and so it's just not the preferred method."
He added: "We don't have a serial killer, but we do have a drowning problem."