Former Iowa long-haul truck driver Clark Perry Baldwin was arrested Wednesday at his Waterloo home after DNA linked him to the murder of 3 women - Pamela McCall, 32, and two unidentified women in the early 1990s. Two of the women were reportedly pregnant at the time of their murder.
The women’s bodies were found dumped in Tennessee and Wyoming, and authorities believe there could be more bodies out there.
Baldwin, 58, a trucker from the late '80s through the mid-'90s, was married at the time of the three killings. He was identified after a relative uploaded DNA to a genealogy site, which was later linked to crime scene evidence.
Investigators later followed Baldwin around and collected garbage he discarded.
“After 29 years, you have to think he had certainly thought it was behind him and got away with it,” District Attorney General, Brent Cooper says.
“Investigators went through all the partial matches, and through the process of elimination they ended up with this guy, and started looking into his background. He was the correct age range and a former truck driver.”
“There were multiple items we got good DNA from that matched the profile at our murder scenes,” Cooper added.
McCall, a hitchhiker, who was believe to be the killer's first known victim was found strangled to death in March of 1991 in Spring Hill, Tennessee.
With DNA in hand authority are working to link the trucker to his crimes as they believe he's probably got more bodies out there.
“We certainly think it is a possibility. We are certainly going to try and see if we can uncover any that are related to him. He traveled all over the country. It is an occupation that would make it easier to hide your actions. If you are gone all the time from home you won’t raise any suspicion with your family.”Baldwin was previously arrested for strangling a woman in a truck in Texas in Feb. of '91, about a month before the murder of McCall. Charges were dismissed in the case because the victim, who was from another state, refused to return to Texas.
“It is very similar. Apparently he handed her a gun and told her to kill him. After he attacked her, he kind of came to his senses and said, 'Just go ahead and shoot me.' Apparently when the police arrested him he was remorseful and told them all about what happened” - Cooper.Baldwin waived extradition in Iowa and will be brought to Tennessee where he is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of McCall and her 24-week-old fetus.
No comments:
Post a Comment