Five unanswered questions as Rainey Street Ripper fears grip Austin for 2nd time in a year & 10th bo

FEARS have grown that a serial killer is stalking a US city with the discovery of a tenth body in a lake close to a popular nightlife spot.

Texas officials announced the discovery of the tenth body floating about 20 feet away from the shore of Lady Bird Lake in Austin on Monday after receiving a 911 call from a local.

Rumors of a supposed serial killer — nicknamed the Rainey Street Ripper — targeting young men and dumping their bodies in Lady Bird Lake in Rainey Street, caused a stir last April.

At the time, the bodies of Jason John, 30, and Johnathan Honey, 33, were discovered at the lake within a month of each other.

This most recent morbid discovery makes 10 total bodies pulled from Lady Bird Lake near Rainey Street, a historic district located in downtown Austin.

But the lack of details about the deaths has helped fuel speculation about the possibility of a serial killer — also nicknamed the Lady Bird Lake Serial Killer — being behind them.

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Here are five unanswered questions about the Rainey Street Ripper:

Who is the latest victim?

Police have declined to provide most details indicating the identity of the latest victim.

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"As of today, the decedent has been identified as a female and this case is not being ruled a homicide," Austin police said in an update about the case on Facebook.

The police said that "at the time no identifiers were known" when originally found.

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How and when did they die?

The victim was declared dead at 1:33 pm on February 5 when officers arrived at the scene and found the body.

After initially saying, "Homicide is actively investigating this as a death investigation," APD investigators updated their comments to announce that the case has not been ruled a homicide and "toxicology reports are still pending."

No other information regarding the cause of death has been made publically available.

Ten bodies have been found in Austin's Lady Bird Lake in last 18 months

The bodies of ten people have been pulled out of Lady Bird Lake in the last 18 months (by date found):

  • July 14, 2022: Ricky Parks, 59
  • December 10, 2022: Christopher Gutierrez, 25
  • December 19, 2022: Josue Moreno, 45
  • December 28, 2022: Kyle Thornton, 56
  • February 13, 2023: Jason John, 30
  • March 5, 2023: Clifton Axtell, 40
  • April 1, 2023: Jonathan Honey, 33
  • April 15, 2023: Christopher Hayes-Clark, 30
  • June 27, 2023: Mogga Dogale, age unknown
  • February 5, 2024: Unidentified woman, age unknown
  • How did they get in the lake?

    "There are a lot of allegations that there’s a serial killer, but there’s no proof or evidence in any of our investigations to sustain that," Austin Police Department Assistant Chief Jeff Greenwalt told local NBC affiliate KXAN in April 2023.

    Along with information regarding the manner of the latest victim's death, no information has been released concerning how the most recently discovered body got into Lady Bird Lake.

    Are the deaths connected?

    As the bodies out of Lady Bird Lake have piled up, some residents have claimed that there could be a serial killer in Austin — but most legal experts disagree.

    Texas Monthly ran a story last May that largely debunked the claims of a serial killer, however, some members of the community on Facebook criticized the publication.

    Some even speculated that the Austin police paid the journalist who wrote the article to divert the public's attention.

    Gerald Reamey, a now-retired St. Mary's University Law professor and former legal advisor to the Irvine Police Department spoke with the San Antonio Current at the time, saying the accusations against Austin Police and Texas Monthly were mind-boggling.

    "Large-scale conspiracies are extremely difficult to organize and extremely difficult to keep confidential," he told the outlet.

    "Almost always, information can be gathered about the existence of any kind of conspiracy. It's just difficult. If you want to commit a crime, do it yourself. Don't ever do it with somebody else."

    The police have denied that there is enough evidence to link the bodies or hunt for a serial killer in the case of Lady Bird Lake.

    Are there more bodies in the lake?

    Although APD representatives have told the media that they would be vigilant in the search for any more bodies, they said they did not see any links between the cases and therefore did not anticipate investigating more suspected crimes than was usual in the area.

    "There is no evidence in any of these cases to support allegations of foul play," police said in a statement after Honey's was found.

    "The circumstances, exact location, and demographics surrounding these cases vary," the department said.

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    In the statement, police also highlighted the issue of having a large body of water near city nightlife.

    "One common theme of the drownings in Austin this year is the combination of alcohol and easy access to Lady Bird Lake, which has numerous access points," they said.

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