By Lydia Warren
Last updated at 3:24 PM on 14th January 2012
Police have held a man in connection with a string of stabbings in Los Angeles, California following the murder of a fourth homeless man in a month.
The unidentified suspect 'generally fits the description' of the man wanted for three stabbings throughout Orange County in December, authorities said - but they continue to investigate a link.
The arrest came after a fourth body was found near a fast food restaurant in Anaheim on Friday. The victim, who was named locally as John and 'appears to be homeless', had been stabbed to death.
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Search: Police in Los Angeles, California have arrested a man in connection with the murder of a homeless man on Friday night. Witnesses chased the suspect as he fled a car park and led police to him
Questions: Deputy police chief Craig Hunter talks to reporters after the body was found behind a restaurant
Witnesses chased a man who ran from the restaurant car park and led police to him, Anaheim police Deputy Chief Craig Hunter told the Orange County Register. He was taken in for questioning.
Police had set up a large containment area at the scene and used bloodhounds to scour nearby neighborhoods in search for evidence, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Around 50 witnesses are being interviewed by police.
The identity of the Friday night victim was not released but nearby residents said he was well known.
Krista Schegetz, who had known John for five or six years, told the Orange County Register she had warned the man about the series of killings.
'When the second one happened, I didn't know if he'd heard,' said Schegetz. 'I know he reads the paper. But I wasn't sure and I said just please be careful.
First victim: James McGillivray was stabbed outside a shopping centre on December 20
Second: Lloyd Middaugh was found stabbed on a riverbed on December 28
Third: Paulus Cornelius Smit was killed outside a library on December 30
'He was very solitary. When I first met him, I asked him if there was anything he needed, and he said "I have everything."'
'He was the nicest guy you can imagine,' Kevin Christensen told the Register. 'I wanted to warn him there was a serial killer loose, and he said "Don't worry about it."'
John's murder comes after the deaths of three homeless men in ten days last month. Each man, found dead in Orange County, was alone at the time of the killings and stabbed repeatedly.
James McGillivray, 53, was found killed with multiple stab wounds outside a shopping center in Placentia. Eight days later, Lloyd Middaugh, 42, was found along a riverbed trail in Anaheim.
Locations: Police in Orange County, California said a serial killer was responsible for the first three killings in December. They are investigating if the fourth, which happened on Friday, is connected
Clues: An image from surveillance video at a California strip mall shows James McGillivray before his death
Paulus Cornelius Smit, 57, was found stabbed to death on December 30 in a stairwell outside a library. His daughter told NBC he had been stabbed 15 to 20 times in the chest and that his bicycle had been stolen.
'He was a proud man,' Julia Smit Lorenzo, who said her father enjoyed making bicycles from scratch, recounted. 'He wouldn't walk away from a situation or into one. It looks like he was ambushed.'
'In a general sense he matches the description of the man filmed near the scene of the first killing. We are certainly not letting down our guard'
Craig Hunter, Anaheim police
She added: 'He was street smart. Homelessness was one thing I overcame. He succumbed to it.'
It is not yet known for certain if the killings are linked, but a task force is investigating a connection.
'Each victim was stabbed multiple times,' Anaheim Police Deputy Chief Craig Hunter said. 'There are some additional similarities between the victims that we are not going to discuss.'
No information was released on the man they took into custody, but Hunter said 'in a very general sense' he matched the description of the man suspected for the earlier deaths.
But police are not assuming they have solved the serial killings. 'We are certainly not letting down our guard,' Hunter said.
Fear: A crowd gathers around the scene of Friday's crime. Around 50 witnesses are being interviewed by police
Ongoing: Police are now investigating whether the stabbing is connected to three others in December
Authorities had released grainy photographs from surveillance video of a man in dark clothing wanted for questioning. Video also showed a white Toyota Corolla driving past the scene an hour before the murder.
Police had urged homeless people to seek shelter and visited homeless camps across Orange County to warn transients of a serial killer is on the loose.
On Friday, the Orange County sheriff's deputies union had announced a $ 5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
Tom Dominguez, president of the Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs, told City News Service: 'This guy is a serial killer preying on some of the most vulnerable people in society.
'We have to do whatever we can to stop him from killing anyone else. If a reward can get someone to talk and help find him, it's worth every penny and more.'
They have also been stopping and questioning motorists around the locations of the crimes.
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Source : dailymail
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