Dallas police investigating if deaths of 3 women found along Trinity River are related
DALLAS - Dallas police are investigating whether three recent murders of women found in Oak Cliff near the Trinity River are related.
Right now, police are asking for information but have stopped short of saying whether they believe the women were killed by the same person.
Three women in the same area of Southwest Dallas have been murdered since April, according to the Dallas Police Department. It’s now investigating a possible connection between the three murders.
Police believe at least two of the victims have possible ties to prostitution.
Bianca Davis is CEO of New Friends New Life, a Dallas non-profit working to help human trafficking victims get out of their situation.
"The first thing it reminded me of is just how violent this industry is," she said. "So it is not surprising that a violent industry could end in homicide."
On Saturday, April 22 just after 8 a.m., a 60-year-old Kimberly Robinson was found dead near 8th Street and Corinth Street in a grassy area along the Trinity River. Dallas police did not say how she was killed.
On Saturday, June 2, 25-year-old Cherish Gibson was found stabbed to death in the same area.
And on Saturday, July 15, an unidentified woman was found dead just a couple miles away also along the Trinity River.
"It also reminds us that women aren’t stepping into this by choice," Davis said. "I mean, who wants to be fighting for their lives?"
Davis says violence against prostitutes is common.
"At New Friends New Life, 81% of our women have been strangled by either a pimp or a john, and we know that non-fatal strangulation is the last step before homicide."
Featured
Police seek information about May hit-and-run crash that killed woman visiting Dallas
A deadly hit-and-run crash in Dallas has gone unsolved for nearly two months, and this week, for the first time, police are asking for help finding the person responsible.
Davis says many people who find themselves on the streets likely have very few other choices.
"Sometimes if a woman’s in a strip club or on a corner, it’s easy to assume that it’s her choice and that she just made some bad decisions," she said. "This isn’t something that she wants."
Dallas police chose not to make anyone available for an interview Tuesday.
The department did not respond to an email asking if they believe there’s a serial killer at large or if there are additional cases possibly connected.
The department is asking for anyone with information about any of the deaths to come forward.