Man possibly linked to missing women had contact with police
Jul 27, 2015, 4:36 PM
This undated Oregon driver identification photo released Monday, July 27, 2015, by the Charleston, W. Va., Police Department shows Neal Falls, of Springfield, Ore., killed by a women he attacked on July 18 in Charleston. Police are investigating whether Falls had any connection to cases of suspicious deaths and missing women in other states. (Oregon DMV/Charleston Police Department via AP)
(Oregon DMV/Charleston Police Department via AP)
CHARLESTON, West Virginia (AP) — A detective says a man killed by a West Virginia woman who said he attacked her after they met through an online site had encounters with police in at least 20 states.
West Virginia authorities are trying to spread information to see if the 45-year-old Oregon man can be linked to unsolved deaths and disappearances in other areas. Detective Steve Cooper says the encounters included being “stopped and investigated by the police in upwards of 20 states.”
But authorities say no history of major crime has surfaced involving Neal Falls.
Cooper says police found items including axes, knives, handcuffs and a shovel in his car. Police say the Charleston woman grabbed his handgun and fired it back over her shoulder as he choked her July 18.
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Sewell reported from Cincinnati.
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This story has been corrected to show Cooper said the man had contact with police in upward of 20 states, not in 20 states.
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