4th death by serial killer?

DAYTONA BEACH - A 30-year-old woman found dead near an abandoned church could be the fourth victim of a serial killer, police said.

Stacey Charlene Gage, a mother of two from nearby Holly Hill, was likely killed Dec. 11, police Chief Mike Chitwood said. Her body was discovered last week, and it appeared she was killed at the scene.

Chitwood said Gage's death is eerily similar to the slayings of three women in late 2005 and early 2006. A criminal profiler with the state said it was a serial killer, but the case fell out of the news when the murders stopped.

Police said the three earlier victims led high-risk lifestyles, but stopped short of calling them prostitutes. Investigators said it was unclear if the victims voluntarily went with the killer.

All three were shot in the head with the same caliber weapon.

Chitwood wouldn't release Gage's cause of death, but recovered methods used by the killer resembled the other murders.

"I have a gut feeling we may be headed down the same road again," Chitwood said.

Gage was last seen by her grandmother Dec. 10, when she borrowed the woman's van to get ice. Betty Hill said it wasn't unusual for her granddaughter to leave for days at a time, but grew concerned and reported the van stolen a week later.

Police are still searching for the van, a white 1998 Plymouth Voyager with Florida tag T25-9VD.

[Last modified January 8, 2008, 22:23:58]