There is a second set of possibly similar unsolved homicides against women in Lansing, where the victims were slightly younger (36, 45, and 46).
Debra Renfors, age 46, was found slain inside a home at
1017 N. Washington Ave. on August 9th.
Renfors had previously been homeless and, according to a neighbor, was trying to leave behind a life of
prostitution.
An odd bit of info: "Debra
Renfors' sister was with Lansing police
identifying a suspect in another case when officers told her Debra was dead, their father said Saturday."
Link
"Renfors' father ... said Monday that his daughter was
planning to move out of the house the day she was found dead, saying he was mistaken when he told the State Journal on Saturday she was moving in."
Link
Renfors' killing was the
second time a woman was murdered at
1017 N. Washington Ave., and the earlier slaying also remains unsolved. "[Renfors' neighbor] said Renfors knew
45-year-old Barbara Jean Tuttle, who in 2004 was found
bludgeoned to death in the same house."
Link
And, 2 days prior to
Renfors' killing (i.e., on Tuesday, August 7th), the body of
36-year-old Deborah Kaye Cooke was found in Hunter Park. According to the Lansing State Journal,
Cooke had a record of
prostitution, and was "[f]ound naked in the park,
beaten about the head and sexually assaulted."
Link. Hunter Park is alleged to be a high-prostitution area.
