11 October 2023 , 10:57
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The suspected kidnapper arrested for the abduction of nine-year-old Charlotte Sena has reawakened interest in two unsolved slayings nearby.
Christina White, 19, and Jennifer Hammond, 18, disappeared two years apart with their remains later found dumped in rural Greenfield, New York.
The 19-year-old's bones were found a year after she vanished in June 2005, and authorities said she had been stabbed. Her phone, wallet and a knife she usually carried were missing. Ms Hammond was last seen in August 2003 when co-workers dropped her off at a trailer park, where she was going door to door to sell magazines, according to authorities.
She never arrived at the pickup spot to meet her boss and remained missing for six years until her skull was found near Lake Desolation Road. Her bus ticket back to Colorado was never used.
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Craig Ross Jr (L), 46, was arrested for the kidnapping of nine-year-old Charlotte SenaIn 2017 investigators revealed the cases could be linked and with Charlotte Sena being taken nearby, they are being looked at again.
The girl had been in New York State on September 30. Craig Ross Jr, 46, was arrested at his trailer home after police identified a fingerprint left on the note. The nine-year-old was rescued.
"He's alleged to have abducted her, but we also know that the best predictor of present or future behaviour is past behaviour," John Kelly, a criminal profiler and the president of STALK Inc., told Fox News Digital, "So, has he ever abducted in the past?"
He noted whoever killed White and Hammond would have likely known the area well. He also noted they both also had auburn hair.
Jennifer Hammond disappeared in 2003 (New York State Police)
The remains of Christina White, 19, were found in June 2005 (New York State Police)"Many killers are interested in certain physical characteristics of their victims, which are usually part of their fantasy," he said, "Both victims were found in the deep woods of upstate New York in Greenfield."
Both victims also vanished near trailer parks in the county, he also added.
Ross has not been named a suspect in either cold case. Addressing the new rumours, Matthew Robinson of the Saratoga County Sheriff's Office told the Albany Times-Union:"At this time, we have no information to indicate that he was or was not involved."
But investigators will look for a possible connection to outstanding cases as a matter of routine.
What led to Charlotte's discovery and the subsequent arrest of Ross was a combination of two errors the 46-year-old made — one during the course of the investigation into Charlotte's kidnapping, and the other in 1999.
That fateful year over two decades ago, Ross was arrested for driving while intoxicated (a DWI), which led the authorities to record his fingerprints. Those same prints were kept in the system and matched to some found on a ransom letter delivered to the family's mailbox a few short days after Charlotte's disappearance.
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Forensic expert Dr Michael McCutcheon of Forensic Education LLC said the fingerprint connection might not have even been possible were it not for Ross's previous DWI conviction, which led to his fingerprints already being on file. Had they not been, he worries the authorities may have taken significantly longer to locate Ross, by which time Charlotte might have suffered a terrible fate.