A man killed after attacking a woman in West Virginia may have been a serial killer who was also responsible for unsolved murders in Las Vegas, police said.
Charleston police spokesman Steve Cooper said Friday that 45-year-old Neal Falls likely attacked others before he beat and choked a woman he met online on July 18.
According to police, Falls attacked a woman he met on Backpage.com at her house. Police say when Falls showed up, he opened the door, slammed it shut, raised a gun at the woman and said to her that "she was going to die," according to NBC affiliate WSAZ.
The victim grabbed his handgun and shot him once. Falls died of the injury he sustained from the shot, which police say was in self-defense, according to the station.
Investigators later found in a Suburu that belonged to Falls that contained several axes, a shovel, handcuffs, bleach trash bags, sledgehammers and axes, according to The Charleston Gazette.
Authorities say Falls, of Springfield, Oregon, rented a room in Henderson, Nevada, just outside of Las Vegas, from 2000 until 2008. During that time, four prostitutes went missing. The dismembered bodies of three were found along highways.
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Cooper told WSAZ his department has been in contact with Las Vegas Police and that he is sharing the department's case file with them to try and determine if there is a connection. There is also a chance that Falls may have been tied to other deaths.
“We are releasing Mr. Falls’ name and photograph, as well as details about the incident. Our hope in doing so is that if there are any other victims of Mr. Falls between here and Oregon that the information may be valuable to law enforcement,” Cooper said, according to the Gazette.
