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Neal Falls, the Oregon man who was killed this month by an escort he'd met online, is now being investigated in connection with the deaths and disappearances of sex workers in at least nine states from coast to coast, authorities told NBC News on Wednesday.
Authorities said they are convinced that the woman stopped a cold-blooded serial killer when she shot and killed Falls with his own gun July 18 in her Charleston, West Virginia, apartment. They described the scene as a "textbook case" straight from Law Enforcement 101.
Lt. Steve Cooper, chief of detectives for the Charleston Police Department, said his detectives has shared information with investigators in eight other states to determine whether there may be a link to similar cases, including: Nevada, Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, and New York, Texas, Oregon and California.
No links have yet been found, but in all of the states, investigators are reviewing cases in which prostitutes or escorts disappeared or were found dismembered about the same time that Falls, 45, most recently of Springfield, Oregon, is known to have been living in the vicinity.
"We're finding that the more information that goes out, the more law enforcement agencies see similarities in possible cases or see similarities in cases where Mr. Falls has actually been," Cooper said.
Falls met the Charleston woman — whom NBC News is identifying only by her first name, Heather — on Backpage, an online personals portal often used to arrange sexual liaisons.
When Falls arrived at Heather's home, he pointed a 9mm handgun at her chest, asked her, "Live or die?" and tried to strangle her, police said. She grabbed Falls' gun when he set it down to overpower her and shot him one time in the head, killing him instantaneously.
Authorities said they are convinced that the woman stopped a cold-blooded serial killer when she shot and killed Falls with his own gun July 18 in her Charleston, West Virginia, apartment. They described the scene as a "textbook case" straight from Law Enforcement 101.
Lt. Steve Cooper, chief of detectives for the Charleston Police Department, said his detectives has shared information with investigators in eight other states to determine whether there may be a link to similar cases, including: Nevada, Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, and New York, Texas, Oregon and California.
No links have yet been found, but in all of the states, investigators are reviewing cases in which prostitutes or escorts disappeared or were found dismembered about the same time that Falls, 45, most recently of Springfield, Oregon, is known to have been living in the vicinity.
"We're finding that the more information that goes out, the more law enforcement agencies see similarities in possible cases or see similarities in cases where Mr. Falls has actually been," Cooper said.
Falls met the Charleston woman — whom NBC News is identifying only by her first name, Heather — on Backpage, an online personals portal often used to arrange sexual liaisons.
When Falls arrived at Heather's home, he pointed a 9mm handgun at her chest, asked her, "Live or die?" and tried to strangle her, police said. She grabbed Falls' gun when he set it down to overpower her and shot him one time in the head, killing him instantaneously.
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