Fanning the flames in Acres Homes

People in Acres Homes are claiming HPD has bungled its investigation into the murders of six young women in the area — a series of errors they say has left them afraid to leave their houses because they might be (a) killed or (b) harassed by a cop. Police should have told residents all along that there might be more than one person responsible for the murders, they say, and the cops should stop using the investigation as an excuse for intimidating the innocent.

Well, we suppose that's what people in Acres Homes think — at least it's what New Black Panther Party spokesman Quanell X says they think. One of the main problems with the investigation, he claims, is that HPD initially said it was looking for one suspect in connection with the murders, and then the department suddenly changed its tune and said multiple suspects might be involved. All this, he said, after "residents and community leaders" handed out 2,000 sketches in the neighborhood saying one man was responsible for the crimes. Based on a July 21 article from the Chronicle, Quanell X was the one who coordinated that flyer campaign; interestingly enough, in that same article, HPD Capt. Dale Brown said police might be after more than one suspect: "Is it possible that one suspect has committed all six of these offenses? The answer is yes," Brown said. "Is it possible that we have a suspect who has done several, and another suspect or suspects who have done some of the others? The answer to that is yes as well." On July 25, KHOU carried a similar story, and though we've seen the sketch and description of a single man, we've also heard the possibility of multiple suspects over and over again.

But that hasn't stopped Quanell X, who seems to be trying to work Acres Homes into even more of a frenzy than already exists (according to him). "How are we as a community expected to help you if the information you gave us is not correct? How can you tell us now that you do not know if he killed the six women?" he asked in today's Chronicle, referring to the arrest of Bilford Junious, who has admitted to committing rapes but has not been connected to the murders. "Is there a second killer? Is there not a serial killer? We need to know what is going on."

HPD says it's working to keep the public informed every time there's news in the investigation — but that really doesn't make as good a story, does it?