DNA Tests Link Murder Suspect to 8 Killings Over 20 Years, Authorities Say
Updated: Walter Ellis had an arrest record dating back more than 25 years. But he was last convicted in 1998, two years before the state of Wisconsin began requiring those convicted of felonies to provide DNA samples.
Although his record didn’t seem to indicate that he might be a major danger to the community—his 1998 felony conviction was for second-degree reckless injury, and he served three years of a five-year sentence—authorities now say he may have murdered eight women in Milwaukee between 1986 and 2007. He has been charged with two counts of first-degree intentional homicide, and authorities say additional charges are expected, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and the Associated Press.
Police say they matched DNA obtained from a toothbrush they found when executing a search warrant at Ellis’ home to evidence found on the bodies of nine victims, although they have said they think one of the victims, a 16-year-old runaway, was killed by someone else. Authorities focused on Ellis as a suspect after his name reportedly began surfacing in connection with several different cases.
Meanwhile, the DNA testing conducted in connection with his investigation identified suspects in at least 10 unrelated cases, the articles report.
Neither article includes any comment from Ellis, who is now 49, or his lawyer.
Although early news coverage of the case reported that officials had not obtained a DNA sample from Ellis because the law requiring them to do hadn’t yet taken effect, updated coverage says the DNA sample should have been taken before his release from prison in 2001.
Officials at the state Department of Corrections say a DNA sample was taken from Ellis, but officials at the state Justice Department say they have no record of receiving it and state legislators are asking for an explanation of what happened.
Related earlier coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “To Solve More Rape Cases, Government Needs to Test Backlog of DNA Evidence”
ABAJournal.com: “Law Says Ill. Inmates Must Get DNA Tests, But Some 50K Weren’t Done”
Updated on Sept. 9 to accord with information from updated Associated Press article.
