Jury Seeks Death for Slasher
Ronald Ralph King Confesses To One Murder; 11 More May Be Under His Belt
Monday, November 30, 2009 at 9:19 pm
 |
| Ronald Ralph King may be the notorious New Mexico Serial Killer |
On February 16, 2001, police in Anthony, New Mexico got a call. There was a body, the caller said, lying under a heap of trash just north of the Flying J truck stop along Interstate 10. Once at the scene, investigators identified the body as that of Heather Lynne Eiche -- a 25-year-old homeless girl who frequented the Flying J to use the phone. She'd been beaten to death. But police could never figure out who would have done such a thing or why.
Then, on January 9, 2009, they finally got their answer in the form of a postcard. It had come from an inmate in Virginia State Prison. His name was Ronald Ralph King. He was 38-years-old, serving time on two counts of rape. His expected release date was February 9, 2015. "I killed her," King wrote. "Now do your job and prove it"...
 |
| King may be responsible for the murders of more than 12 women, including Cinammon Elks (above), who went missing in 2004 |
Apparently, King had been a long-haul truck driver from 1991 until 2005, when he was finally imprisoned in Virginia. He made frequent stops in Anthony along his routes, which he proudly reconstructed for police. He even included a map accurately detailing the area in which he'd dumped Eiche's body. And he said that she wasn't his only victim.
Virginia state police claim that King had been bragging about his many Southwestern homicides to fellow inmates. They eventually sent an intelligence memo to the Do-a Ana Sheriff's Department Cold Case Unit, which then wrote King directly, asking for more information.
King not only confessed to the murder of Eiche in his postcard, but those of several other women, too -- some of whose bodies may be buried in the desert just west of Albuquerque. Those murders made national headlines earlier this year when the bodies of 11 women and a fetus were discovered on a 92-acre site that was being leveled for a residential subdivision just outside the city. It is one of the largest crime scenes in the country. And police now think it may be the work of King.
Like Eiche, most of the women murdered near Albuquerque were drifters -- lost to drugs or prostitution. A few were mothers. And almost all of them were in their 20s or early 30s, just like Eiche.
As to why King would have murdered Eiche, he chillingly wrote: "By the way, what was her name? That's why she died because she wouldn't say her fucking name."
Last week, King was indicted by a Dona Ana County grand jury on charges of first-degree murder and tampering with evidence. While police also hope to find a link between King and the Albuquerque murders, he is awaiting extradition from Virginia to New Mexico.
UPDATE: Dona Ana Sheriff Ricky Madrid tells True Crime Report how he first found out about King and why he may also be the serial killer in the Albuquerque case.
Today, True Crime Report spoke with Dona Ana Sheriff Rick Madrid about its investigation into Ronald Ralph King. Madrid tells us that King initially discussed the Eiche murder with his prison psychologist, who was bound by law to report the confession. Once King's doctor contacted authorities, they sent out a generic bulletin, which caught the attention of the Dona Ana Sheriff's Department.
That's when Madrid and his partner penned a letter to King asking for more information. He said it took "months and months" for them to finally hear back. "Then out of the blue, we just got this letter," Madrid says.
Madrid also said that he obtained the written confession that King had given to his shrink. "It's a pretty gruesome letter," Madrid says. "It detailed what he did to several women, whether they were prostitutes or not."
For that reason, Madrid assumed that there were more victims than just Eiche. "We're looking at other unsolved cases across the country," Madrid says. "And based on the routes he traveled, we are sure that there are several others linked to him."
Madrid quickly contacted authorities in Albuquerque -- where the bodies of 11 women and a fetus have been found in one of the country's largest crime scenes -- but hasn't heard anything from their investigators in months. He also says that he's been trying to get face time with King, who refuses to meet with authorities. "We've tried to arrange a few interviews," Madrid says. "But he keeps backing off at the last minute. Instead, he just sends us letters."
Madrid also claims that the FBI is currently creating a timeline of King's activity -- studying his trucker's logs with the hope of linking him to yet more cases across the country. "Who knows," says Madrid. "He may just be a bragger."
Madrid is asking anyone with more information about King to contact him at 575-647-6990.
Tags: New Mexico, Virginia
More links from around the web!
