Charlie Chop-off - Part 2 - Suspects A suspect was apprehended and named in the press, L. Gonzales.

Charlie Chop-off - Part 2 - Suspects A suspect was apprehended and named in the press, L. Gonzales. He was reported to have been seen loitering in the area when some of the abductions occurred. Witnesses were called to the police station but did not confirm his identity. He was about to be let free, but a mob of protesters formed around the station. Having been made aware of his identity, the public was convinced that this man was indeed the perpetrator. Police established barricades around the precinct, but protesters climbed over the barriers and scaled roofs and police cars. The police decided they would have to sneak L. Gonzales out of the station disguised as a policeman. They dressed up a cop in civilian clothing and had him walk outside, escorted by other officers, while covering his face. A few weeks after Steven Cropper’s murder, a man named Daniel Olivo was charged with molesting a 5-year-old boy after luring him into a secluded area in a nearby park. The boy escaped and ran to his father, and Olivo was discovered hiding in some bushes and arrested. He fit the suspect’s profile: he had a medium skin tone and walked with a limp. However, the police found that his movements did not match up with the murders, and he was dismissed as a suspect. In May, 1974, Erno Soto, a patient at the Manhattan State Hospital, was apprehended during the attempted abduction of a young Puerto Rican boy. The boy escaped and was seen running down the street yelling. Soto was detained by neighbors until the police arrived. Soto was a “frequent flier” at Manhattan’s mental institutions. He had been intermittently institutionalized starting in 1969. Reportedly Soto and his wife (who were both Puerto Rican) had become estranged but reunited. Sometime after their reunion, Soto’s wife gave birth to a black baby boy. Soto and his wife appeared to reconcile despite this, but as the boy approached his 8th birthday, Soto’s mental state began to deteriorate. He was hospitalized multiple times for “uncontrollable violence”, and had been arrested on several occasions for burglary and narcotics possession. He had also been treated for heroin addiction. Soto’s physical description matched the description given by witnesses. In addition, the main exit from the hospital was near to where some of the boys’ bodies were found, and he had relatives living in the areas near some of the others. After his arrest, a witness was found by the police who claimed that he had seen Soto with Steven Cropper on the day of his death. The surviving boy from the attempted 1972 murder was shown a line-up including Soto but was not able to identify him. He did say that Soto looked “similar” to his attacker, but nothing conclusive. Soto confessed to police that he stalked young black boys in the area, and confessed to killing Steven Cropper, but not any of the other boys. He reportedly did tell police that God told him “to make little boys into girls”. He was reportedly institutionalized on the dates of one of the murders, but this is easily explained by the fact that security at the institution was lax, and Soto had a weekend pass. The police were certain that they had their man. Soto was charged with the murder of Steven Cropper; however, at trial he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and found not guilty by reason of insanity. He was remanded to a high security mental institution. After his institutionalization, the murders stopped. In the end, nobody was found guilty of any of the Charlie Chop-Off murders, but police considered the cases closed. -- source link

More pics about