Suspected “Railroad Killer” Rafael Resendez-Ramirez came to the end of a trail of terror after three frenzied days of talks between law enforcement and his family.
“You have no place to turn. Maybe you ought to turn yourself in,” was the simple, yet urgent, message authorities were able to convey to the wanted drifter, said FBI Special Agent Don Clark.
In the end, it was a sister’s “trust” in a Texas Ranger that helped bring the 39-year-old drifter, almost sheepishly, to justice.
The bespectacled Resendez-Ramirez – on the FBI’s “10 Most Wanted” list – is suspected of eight killings in Illinois, Kentucky and Texas.
The suspect, who uses several aliases and traveled the country by hopping freight trains, is linked to eight murders by fingerprints, DNA and property stolen from the victims, all of whom lived near railroad tracks, officials said.
His criminal record goes back to 1976, with the first of many arrests for illegal entry to the United States from Mexico – and includes numerous arrests and 10 years behind bars for crimes ranging from illegal entry to aggravated assault.
His alleged killing rampage began with the Aug. 29, 1997, slaying in Kentucky of 21-year-old college student Christopher Maier, who was attacked along with his girlfriend while walking along the tracks.
He then came under suspicion in seven more slayings: the Dec. 17, 1998, killing of Dr. Claudia Benton in the Houston area; the May 2, 1999, slayings of Minister Norman Sirnic, 46, and his wife Karen, 47, in Weimar, Texas; the June 4 slaying of Josephine Konvicka, 73, who lived near the Sirnics; the June 5 killing of 26-year-old Houston schoolteacher Noemi Dominguez; and the June 15 slayings of George Morber, 79, and his daughter, Carolyn Frederick, 51, in Gorham, Ill.
Investigators said a lucky phone call proved pivotal in their search for the suspect.
Mike Cox, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety, said Resendez-Ramirez’s sister, who lives in Albuquerque, N.M., called Texas Ranger Drew Carter Sunday and said she’d been in touch with her brother through an intermediary – apparently another brother.
The names of the brother and sister were not made public.
Carter and federal agents met with the woman to talk about the suspect’s surrender on burglary charges related to the Houston killing.
“Ranger Carter was able to develop a rapport with the sister, and we think the rapport he developed with her was crucial,” Cox said.
Bruce Casteel, a commander of the Rangers, added that it ultimately was the “trust” the sister had in Carter that cinched the deal.
“Resendez-Ramirez insisted he would only surrender to a Texas Ranger,” Cox said.
Early yesterday, Resendez-Ramirez calmly walked across a bridge over the Rio Grande from Mexico to El Paso, meekly shook hands with Ranger Carter, and was handcuffed.
“He was very pleasant, non-aggressive,” Carter said.
The surrender agreement included assurances of family visits, a psychological evaluation and promises that Resendez-Ramirez would be safe in jail, Casteel said.
The deal did not shield Resendez-Ramirez from the death penalty.
Cox speculated that Resendez-Ramirez may have agreed to surrender because he feared bounty hunters were hunting him, lured by a $125,000 reward.
Resendez-Ramirez was arraigned on Texas burglary charges in El Paso and then flown to Houston.
He was without emotion at the hearing, saying only “whatever” when asked if he wanted the charges read in English or Spanish.
In Houston, authorities were expected to hold him for suspected burglary while prosecutors try to work up murder charges.
Resendez-Ramirez was picked up by the Immigration and Naturalization Service last month – and then deported to Mexico in an agency bungle. Officials believe he killed four people after his release.
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BLOOD ON THE TRACKS: A CHRONOLOGY OF TERROR
Alleged “Railroad Killer” Rafael Resendez-Ramirez is being investigated in eight slayings in Texas, Kentucky and Illinois – a cross-country trail of blood dating back to when he first sneaked into the country in 1976.
Key dates in the violent reign of terror of which he’s accused:
1. Aug. 31, 1976: First reported attempt to enter the United States ends with an arrest by the Immigration and Naturalization Service at Brownsville, Texas.
2. Aug. 29, 1997: Christopher Maier, 21-year-old student at University of Kentucky, is killed as he and his girlfriend take a shortcut along the railroad tracks from one party to another.
3. Dec. 17, 1998: Dr. Claudia Benton is found sexually assaulted, stabbed and beaten to death inside her Houston-area home near railroad tracks. Her vehicle is later found abandoned in San Antonio, and one of Resendez-Ramirez’s fingerprints is found in the car.
4. May 2, 1998: The Rev. Norman Sirnic, 46, and his wife, Karen, 47, are found dead inside their home near railroad tracks in Weimar, Texas. Their stolen pickup is found in Nearby San Antonio.
5. June 4, 1999: Josephine Konvicka, 72, is found slain inside her Fayette County home, about three miles from the Sirnic’s home.
6. June 5, 1999: Noemi Dominguez, a 26-year-old Houston schoolteacher, is found beaten to death in her home.
7. June 15, 1999: Bodies of George Morber, 79, and his daughter, Carolyn Frederick, 51, are discovered at their Gorham, Ill., home, approximately 100 yards from a railroad track.
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(Different version in the metro edition)