Crime Mapping

In the data on sexual assaults from January through May of 2000, a clear series pattern emerges involving a single assailant driving a blue Ford Taurus station wagon with Arizona. The identical descriptions of the car for all of these incidents, including two matching identifications of the vehicles year, was the detail that drew my eye to the pattern initially, and the pattern's classification as a series is evident from the several months over which these assaults occurred.

The primary case is record #14; it has the most complete information regarding the assault and the assailant, including the license plate number of the car. Only one other record involving a blue Taurus included the license plate number, which was a match, confirming that these attacks were made by the same person. Facial hair descriptions varied slightly, but the ease with which this feature can be altered or even faked should in no way discount the single-assailant assumption. Instead, the three features that should be used to identify other key cases are the car, the initial approach of the assailant asking for change or information, and the basic physical characteristics including white skin, brown hair, blue eyes, and weight around 160 lbs.

The other cases in this pattern are record numbers 9-14, 16, 19, and 22. Each of these cases involved a blue Taurus station wagon with Arizona plates, and each incident began with the assailant asking for change or information. All of these incidents also include a description of a white male weighing around 160 lbs. with brown hair, and all but #11 include a description of blue eyes. Record #12 makes note of the license plate, and several of the incidents clustered around the same dates include mention of a moustache. Other reports of clean shaving or a shadow (numbers 9 and 10) occurred far enough off for facial hair to have changed.