PizDoff
9/26/2005 1:22am,
with exerpts
Portrait of suspect in killings emerges
His acquaintances shocked, sickened
By Sheila McLaughlin
Enquirer staff writer
Melvin Keeling seemed ordinary until Monday.
That's when the kickboxing, pool-playing autoworker and father of three assumed a totally different identity: suspected sex abuser and killer.
Keeling remained on the run Saturday, six days after he allegedly ambushed and killed 13-year-old Katelind Caudill, a witness in a sex abuse case against him, and is wanted in connection with the fatal shooting of two Indiana convenience store clerks as he headed toward Chicago in his Ford minivan.
The Monday shootings astounded and sickened neighbors who knew him. Fearful as he remains free, many refuse to talk about him publicly. They say they now know what he is capable of.
Katelind's relatives also have gone into hiding, saying they, too, fear that Keeling "will be back to finish whatever he started," said Debbie LeBlanc, a cousin of the slain girl.
FBI agents distributed wanted posters nationwide, arranged for the 43-year-old man to be spotlighted on "America's Most Wanted," offered $25,000 in reward money and enlisted the help of a behavioral psychologist at the agency's Quantico, Va., headquarters to figure out what makes someone like him tick.
"Let's face it, this guy is tough," said Michael Brooks, a spokesman for the Cincinnati FBI office, which has become the command center for the manhunt.
The seemingly normal life of Keeling began to unravel on Sept. 16. That's the day Katelind confronted him and called him a pedophile, court records show.
Keeling's stepdaughter had just confided to Katelind that he molested her, Katelind's relatives said, and Katelind was upset.
The girl was her best friend.
The following day, the teen had an aunt call police, touching off an investigation.
At the time, Keeling could not be found. Within 32 hours, Katelind, a seventh-grader, was gunned down in her bedroom as she brushed her shoulder-length blond hair while getting ready to go to Kings Junior High School.
.........
Keeling didn't have a record of violence. He didn't have known drug problems that might have triggered irrational acts, authorities said
...........
The former kick-boxer was sometimes seen jogging in his Deerfield Township neighborhood, punching the air like a boxer in training.
He often mentioned he wanted to get back into martial arts. He hadn't formally trained in the sport for at least six years, although he had achieved a fifth-degree black belt while training at a now-defunct club on Reading Road, FBI officials said.
A pin inserted in his neck to repair a medical condition kept him from turning his head from side to side, the FBI's Brooks said. Instead, he would turn his torso to look to the left or right.
Full article and pictures can be found at:
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050925/NEWS01/509250420
Portrait of suspect in killings emerges
His acquaintances shocked, sickened
By Sheila McLaughlin
Enquirer staff writer
Melvin Keeling seemed ordinary until Monday.
That's when the kickboxing, pool-playing autoworker and father of three assumed a totally different identity: suspected sex abuser and killer.
Keeling remained on the run Saturday, six days after he allegedly ambushed and killed 13-year-old Katelind Caudill, a witness in a sex abuse case against him, and is wanted in connection with the fatal shooting of two Indiana convenience store clerks as he headed toward Chicago in his Ford minivan.
The Monday shootings astounded and sickened neighbors who knew him. Fearful as he remains free, many refuse to talk about him publicly. They say they now know what he is capable of.
Katelind's relatives also have gone into hiding, saying they, too, fear that Keeling "will be back to finish whatever he started," said Debbie LeBlanc, a cousin of the slain girl.
FBI agents distributed wanted posters nationwide, arranged for the 43-year-old man to be spotlighted on "America's Most Wanted," offered $25,000 in reward money and enlisted the help of a behavioral psychologist at the agency's Quantico, Va., headquarters to figure out what makes someone like him tick.
"Let's face it, this guy is tough," said Michael Brooks, a spokesman for the Cincinnati FBI office, which has become the command center for the manhunt.
The seemingly normal life of Keeling began to unravel on Sept. 16. That's the day Katelind confronted him and called him a pedophile, court records show.
Keeling's stepdaughter had just confided to Katelind that he molested her, Katelind's relatives said, and Katelind was upset.
The girl was her best friend.
The following day, the teen had an aunt call police, touching off an investigation.
At the time, Keeling could not be found. Within 32 hours, Katelind, a seventh-grader, was gunned down in her bedroom as she brushed her shoulder-length blond hair while getting ready to go to Kings Junior High School.
.........
Keeling didn't have a record of violence. He didn't have known drug problems that might have triggered irrational acts, authorities said
...........
The former kick-boxer was sometimes seen jogging in his Deerfield Township neighborhood, punching the air like a boxer in training.
He often mentioned he wanted to get back into martial arts. He hadn't formally trained in the sport for at least six years, although he had achieved a fifth-degree black belt while training at a now-defunct club on Reading Road, FBI officials said.
A pin inserted in his neck to repair a medical condition kept him from turning his head from side to side, the FBI's Brooks said. Instead, he would turn his torso to look to the left or right.
Full article and pictures can be found at:
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050925/NEWS01/509250420