'Roofie' serial killer fears as fifth body is pulled from city lake this year

02 July 2023 , 17:45

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'Roofie' serial killer fears as fifth body is pulled from city lake this year

Fears of a loose serial killer in Texas remain after a fifth body was found at a lake where four other bodies had already been found.

The Austin Police Department (APD) identified the body of Mogga Dogale, found in Lady Bird Lake on Tuesday.

Police have insisted that Mr Dogale's death is not being investigated as a homicide but local people fear there is a serial killer in their midst. Fears were raised further when a local bartender claimed there was a killer on the loose.

Speculation surrounds the Rainey Street area of Austin where some of the five men were seen before they went missing.

In April, the APD said: "There is no evidence in any of these cases to suspect foul play.

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Jonathan Honey was found dead on April 1 (FB)

"While each incident has occurred at the lake, the circumstances, exact locations, and demographics surrounding these cases vary."

But that does little to calm the fears of many residents, who worry there is a 'roofie killer' on the loose, targeting men around the age of 30, using drugs like GHB to spike people's drinks - known as 'roofies'.

Cliff Axtell, 40, was found in Lady Bird Lake on March 5 (FB)

All four of the men found prior to Mr Dogale were around the same age, prompting many people to wonder whether they were targeted victims instead of unlucky men who had been drinking on nearby Rainey Street.

Jason John, 30, was the first body to be discovered a week after a night out on Rainey Street on February 5.

John Christopher Hays-Clark, 30, was pulled from the lake on April 15 (KVUE)

Cliff Axel, 40, was then found dead in the lake on March 5, followed by the discovery of Jonathon Honey, 33, on April 1.

Honey was last seen at a taco truck on Rainey Street in the early hours of March 31.

John Christopher Hays-Clark, 30, was found dead on April 15.

Jason John, 30, was found on February 13 after he was last seen on Rainey Street (FB)

Prior to that, Julio Santos, 22 was found in 2015; Martin Gutierrez, 25, was found in 2018.

Another man, Christian Pugh, 21, was found alive in the lake in 2019 with a blow to the head and bruised hands.

A bartender in the area told the US Sun in April that police patrols have been seen regularly, suggesting that police believe there is more to the unfortunate cases.

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The deaths are not being investigated as homicides, the APD said (KXAN Austin)

The unnamed worker disputed the police's assertion that the deaths were from accidental drowning.

"It's an odd place for people to go, too. I find it hard to see how people could leave Rainey, and end up at the lake... You have to walk blocks to get there," she explained.

Christian Pugh, 21, was found alive in the lake in 2019 with a blow to the head and bruised hands. (KXAN Austin)

One local bartender said she thinks the police presence in the area means more is going on than meets the eye (KXAN Austin)

She added: "The amount of people who have been found dead is huge."

Eight people have been found drowned in Lady Bird Lake in the past 10 months after nights out on Rainey Street.

Benjamin Lynch