A team of retire detectives and a gang expert have suggested that around 100 accidental deaths may be the work of a gang of serial killers called “The Smiley Face Killers”.
The killings stretching back to 1997 were all white, college-aged males who had notable athletic and academic ability and were all found dead in a body of water. The FBI, local agencies and Center for Homicide Research have all ruled out foul play but the detectives say evidence shows otherwise.
The detectives, calling themselves Global Death Investigations have said that around 100 killings across the USA all share similar profiles, males who all failed to turn up after a night’s drinking and whose bodies were later found in a body of water or washed up on the shore.
The detectives have said that 7 of the alleged victims have been found near places which have smiley face graffiti.
Retired New York City police sergeant, Kevin Gannon said, ““To me, this is one of the most dangerous domestic terrorist groups in the United States and somebody needs to pay attention to them. The level of sophistication of the group is a lot greater than we’d imagined. Now we know they communicate with each other on the dark web. We know there’s surveillance and counter-surveillance.”
Global Death Investigations believe a cell operates across the USA and may contain a dozen people who co-ordinate the targeting of individuals.
“They’re targeting the best of the best. These kids are the best students. They’re the best athletes and they come from the best families,” Gannon said.
The group believes that victims are taken somewhere and kept alive for a few days before being killed and dumped in bodies of water.
The group first raised the prospect of the Smiley Face Killers in 2008. The BI said then, “have not developed any evidence to support links between these tragic deaths or any evidence substantiating the theory that these deaths are the work of a serial killer or killers.”
