Phillip Garrido: sex offender, child abducter, and serial killer?

An 18-year-old child abduction case has finally been resolved and has led to the apprehention of Phillip Garrido and his wife, Nancy Garrido. It was June 11, 1991 when two suspects were seen in a grey sedan in front of Jaycee Lee Dugard's home. While she was walking to the bus stop, her stepfather, Carl Probyn, witnessed the car make a U-turn and saw a female passenger lean out, snatch Dugard, and pull her into the car. Since then, the case has been left unsolved, and the whereabouts of Jaycee Lee Dugard have been unknown.

Since her abduction in 1991, Dugard has been living in a shed and home made tents in the yard of her abductor.

According to CNN, "Phillip Garrido and his wife, Nancy, will face 28 felony counts after being accused of kidnapping Jaycee Lee Dugard when she was 11 and keeping her in their backyard since 1991, the district attorney of El Dorado County, California, said Friday." The maximum sentence for the charges agains the Garridos is life imprisonment. According to CNN, authorities missed an earlier opportunity to apprehend the fugitives when "someone called 911 on November 30, 2006, to say that a woman and young children were living in tents in the backyard of Phillip Garrido, said Sheriff Warren E. Rupf of Contra Costa County, California, on Friday."

According to ABC, University of California, Berkeley Police Officer Ally Jacobs had a bizarre encounter with Garrido that led to her pursuing the case. Officer Jacobs met with Garrido and his two daughters. ABC states that Officer Jacobs noticed "the younger daughter, Jacobs said, sat and seemed relaxed, while the older one stood, "staring at him like he was a god." Both girls, Jacobs recalled, "had this weird look in their eyes like brainwashed zombies."

Her concern for the children led to her interest in Garrido. Knowing that Garrido was on parole for rape, Officer Jacobs reported Garrido to his parole officer and "Jacobs said she was shocked to hear from the parole 0fficer that he believed Garrido had no daughters, and told Jacobs that he would investigate further. On Wednesday, Aug. 28, he called Jacobs back and told her Garrido was wanted for kidnapping."

According to KCRA, Garrido admitted kidnapping Dugard, although it is unknown whether or not an attorney was present. According to Garrido, "You are going to be completely impressed," he said. "It's a disgusting thing that took place with me at the beginning. But I turned my life completely around and to be able to understand that, you have to start there."

As of now, Jaycee Dugard is being kept out of the media's eye. She has been reunited with her mother, and retains custody of her children. A DNA test is being conducted to confirm her identity.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Garrido is being investigated as a person of interest in a string of serial murders involving at least 10 prostitutes. So far, Garrido has been questioned about the murders, but has not revealed anything that would make him a suspect in the crimes.

So, this is known: that Garrido is a child abductor, rapist, and convicted sex offender, but is he a serial murderer?

References:

Van Derbeken, J. (2009, Aug 28). New Garrido search: Prostitute serial killings. San Francisco Chronicle, Retrieved Aug 28, 2009, from http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/08/28/BAE119FAJL.DTL

Ghadishah, A. (2009, Aug 28). EXCLUSIVE: Meet Cop Who Helped Nail Alleged Dugard Kidnapper. ABC News, Retrieved Aug 28, 2009, from http://www.abcnews.go.com/Nightline/Story?id=8437707&page=1

Gandossy, T. (2009, Aug 28). Couple faces 28 felony counts, life in jail in kidnapping. CNN, Retrieved Aug 28, 2009, from http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/08/28/california.missing.girl/index.html

Staff, (2009, Aug 28). Kidnap Suspect: 'Wait Until You Hear The Story'. KCRA, Retrieved Aug 28, 2009, from http://www.kcra.com/news/20591281/detail.html