By CHRIS KAHN
Associated Press Writer
PHOENIX- Police have arrested a man in connection with their search for a serial killer who is believed to have slain eight people and sexually assaulted 11 women and girls, a police spokesman said Thursday.
The man, whose identity was not released, was arrested in connection with a sexual assault related to the case, said police spokesman Sgt. Andy Hill. He declined to release any details but said more information would be given at a police briefing.
The murders are one of two serial killing sprees that have terrorized the western city of Phoenix in recent months.
The unknown assailant has been dubbed the “Baseline Killer,” because several of the murders took place near the city’s Baseline Road.
Reports show the sexual assaults have ranged from fondling to rape. In many cases, victims had conversations with the man before they were attacked. He appears to always have a gun, and often threatens to shoot and kill victims.
In the other series of recent killings, known as the “Serial Shooter” case, police arrested two men last month in an investigation of more than a dozen shootings, seven fatal. They have been charged in two fatal shootings.
Police believe the men - Dale S. Hausner, 33, and Samuel John Dieteman, 30 - took turns shooting random victims late at night and early in the morning. Both men have pleaded not guilty.
In a jailhouse interview last month, Hausner said he was innocent but that it was possible his roommate, Dieteman, was responsible for the shootings. Dieteman, a Minnesota native, refused interview requests.