Michael Harris
08-10-2004, 04:47 PM
To All:
I received this by email from a woman with whom I have done some business. I believe her to be a reasonable person, so I am passing this on. I do not know who Margaret Wade is, but that is not important. This could be entirely apocryphal, but the message is valid anyway.
This came from Margaret Wade:
I live in Alexandria, VA, but I often work Lafayette, LA, staying with friends when I'm there. As you know from America's Most Wanted TV program, as well as the news media, there is a serial killer in the Lafayette area. I just want to let you know about an "incident" that happened to me a few weeks ago, and could have been deadly.
At first I didn't go to the police or anyone with it because I didn't realize how serious this encounter was. But since I work in a jail and I told a few people about it, it wasn't long before I was paraded into Internal Affairs to tell them my story.
It was approximately 5:15 a.m. in Opelousas, LA. I had stayed with a friend there and was on my way to work. I stopped at the Exxon/Blimpie station to get gas. I got $10 gas and a Diet Coke... I took into the store two $5 bills and one $1 bill. (just enough to get my stuff)
As I pulled away from the store, a man approached my truck from the backside of the store (an unlit area). He was an "approachable-looking" man (clean cut, clean shaven, dressed well, etc.). He walked up to my window and knocked. Since I'm very paranoid and "always looking for the rapist or killer", I didn't open the window ... I just asked what he wanted. He raised a $5 bill to my window and said, "You dropped this. "Since I knew I had gone into the store with a certain amount of money, I knew I didn't drop it. When I told him it wasn't mine, he began hitting the window and door, screaming at me to open my door, and insisting that I had dropped the money! At that point, I just drove away as fast as I could.
After talking to the Internal Affairs Department and describing the man I saw, and the way he escalated from calm and polite to angry and volatile... it was determined that I could have possibly encountered the serial killer myself. Up to this point, it had been unclear as to how he had gained access to his victims, since there has been no evidence of forced entry into victim's homes, cars, etc. And the fact that he has been attacking in the daytime, when women are less likely to have their guard up, means he is pretty BOLD. (So think about it, what gesture is nicer than returning money to someone that dropped it?????) How many times would you have opened your window (or door) to get your money and say thank you....because if the person is kind enough to return something to you, then he can't really be a threat....Can he????
Please be cautious! This might not have been the serial killer... it probably wasn't... but anyone that gets that angry over someone not accepting money from them, can't have honorable intentions. The most important thing to note is that his reaction was NOT WHAT I EXPECTED! A total surprise! But what might have happened if I had opened my door? I shudder to think! Forward this to everyone you know... maybe they can be as fortunate as I was!
PS from the Sender: Ladies, really DO forward this to EVERYONE you know.
Even if this man wasn't a serial killer, he looked nice, he seemed polite, he was apparently doing an act of kindness, but HE HAD ANOTHER MOTIVE!!!
I received this by email from a woman with whom I have done some business. I believe her to be a reasonable person, so I am passing this on. I do not know who Margaret Wade is, but that is not important. This could be entirely apocryphal, but the message is valid anyway.
This came from Margaret Wade:
I live in Alexandria, VA, but I often work Lafayette, LA, staying with friends when I'm there. As you know from America's Most Wanted TV program, as well as the news media, there is a serial killer in the Lafayette area. I just want to let you know about an "incident" that happened to me a few weeks ago, and could have been deadly.
At first I didn't go to the police or anyone with it because I didn't realize how serious this encounter was. But since I work in a jail and I told a few people about it, it wasn't long before I was paraded into Internal Affairs to tell them my story.
It was approximately 5:15 a.m. in Opelousas, LA. I had stayed with a friend there and was on my way to work. I stopped at the Exxon/Blimpie station to get gas. I got $10 gas and a Diet Coke... I took into the store two $5 bills and one $1 bill. (just enough to get my stuff)
As I pulled away from the store, a man approached my truck from the backside of the store (an unlit area). He was an "approachable-looking" man (clean cut, clean shaven, dressed well, etc.). He walked up to my window and knocked. Since I'm very paranoid and "always looking for the rapist or killer", I didn't open the window ... I just asked what he wanted. He raised a $5 bill to my window and said, "You dropped this. "Since I knew I had gone into the store with a certain amount of money, I knew I didn't drop it. When I told him it wasn't mine, he began hitting the window and door, screaming at me to open my door, and insisting that I had dropped the money! At that point, I just drove away as fast as I could.
After talking to the Internal Affairs Department and describing the man I saw, and the way he escalated from calm and polite to angry and volatile... it was determined that I could have possibly encountered the serial killer myself. Up to this point, it had been unclear as to how he had gained access to his victims, since there has been no evidence of forced entry into victim's homes, cars, etc. And the fact that he has been attacking in the daytime, when women are less likely to have their guard up, means he is pretty BOLD. (So think about it, what gesture is nicer than returning money to someone that dropped it?????) How many times would you have opened your window (or door) to get your money and say thank you....because if the person is kind enough to return something to you, then he can't really be a threat....Can he????
Please be cautious! This might not have been the serial killer... it probably wasn't... but anyone that gets that angry over someone not accepting money from them, can't have honorable intentions. The most important thing to note is that his reaction was NOT WHAT I EXPECTED! A total surprise! But what might have happened if I had opened my door? I shudder to think! Forward this to everyone you know... maybe they can be as fortunate as I was!
PS from the Sender: Ladies, really DO forward this to EVERYONE you know.
Even if this man wasn't a serial killer, he looked nice, he seemed polite, he was apparently doing an act of kindness, but HE HAD ANOTHER MOTIVE!!!