The Austin / Rainey St / Lake Serial Killer

[Homercles 10205]

Well we know APD won’t solve it.  They couldn’t even connect the dots when the same dude kept calling in and showing up to Rockgate.  

[Bevo 13493]

4 hours ago, MaybeACoordinator said:

An acquaintance of mine at UT was mugged by a group of dudes on the Congress St. bridge (circa 1989) and tossed over the side. He was kind of a badass and a very skilled swimmer, so he survived.

This one's easy. Lemme guess.

 

 

 

Frank Stallone?

[South Austin 52037]

Fuck if I know, but seems unlikely that all of these deaths are folks simply getting so high that they wander to the lake and fall or hop in. One or two? Maybe. This many? Seems like something more is going on.

[conVINCEd 21468]

1 minute ago, South Austin said:

Fuck if I know, but seems unlikely that all of these deaths are folks simply getting so high that they wander to the lake and fall or hop in. One or two? Maybe. This many? Seems like something more is going on.

I’ve been plenty fucked up in downtown Austin in my lifetime.  Accidentally fall in the lake was never on the bingo card.

[South Austin 52037]

And I say “high” as an assumption, because I don’t recall reading any reports of victims wearing bathing suits or other attire suggesting they drowned during some kind of recreational lake activity.

[Orange&White 5516]

8 hours ago, FORTY NINE TO ZERO said:

Leaning more to a group of people drugging dudes to steal shit.  Some just get so fucked up that walk into the lake and drown.  Been happening in austin for years, especially dirty sixth, but now the bars are closer to the water than before.    Or they moved into those bars..

Oh, you mean sort of like this?

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/29/nyregion/indictments-nyc-gay-bars-homicide.html

[HenryJames 65868]

This seems like overkill to get someone's cash/credit cards when you could just pick their pocket. Were any of the victims robbed? 

[Deej 76510]

1 hour ago, South Austin said:

Fuck if I know, but seems unlikely that all of these deaths are folks simply getting so high that they wander to the lake and fall or hop in. One or two? Maybe. This many? Seems like something more is going on.

And exactly how deep is it in that area? I can't imagine it just drops off right at the bank. You'd probably have a bit of time to correct course once you realized "Hey, my shoes are getting wet."

Edited April 3, 2023 by Deej

[Nicole44 22023]

New article from today:

https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/austinites-pushing-for-change-another-body-recovered-from-lake/269-2e9e541d-2e5e-4cbf-bd7e-798334b459d7
 

“Mitchell Gutierrez, who has been pushing for change from the city since his brother Martin died in 2018, said after John's death he was grateful the City added the temporary lights and fences along the trail - but that was not the solution he was hoping for. 

"We had four lights, but it's still so dark out there. And I mean, point proven, I had said it to multiple times -- eventually this was going to happen again, and it did," said Gutierrez. "What we needed was lighting and cameras. That's what we needed. That wasn't done."

Gutierrez said he has been sharing his story and spreading awareness through social media and plans to meet with City officials at their next meeting. 

"Power comes in numbers, so that's what we're trying to do," said Gutierrez. "If anyone's listening, just do not go to Rainey Street alone. Go in groups and just be safe."

[MAUFRAIS 6571]

Are they under 35? Maybe they’re riding scooters and the phone thinks they’re on the road so punch it chewy?

[texasdago 7550]

7 hours ago, MaybeACoordinator said:

An acquaintance of mine at UT was mugged by a group of dudes on the Congress St. bridge (circa 1989) and tossed over the side. He was kind of a badass and a very skilled swimmer, so he survived. I kind of think at least some of these deaths came about under similar circumstances.

Not possible.  Austin in 1989 was crime-free.

[Red Five 40593]

16 hours ago, Armybrat said:

This guy sounds like a real jerk. 

[Macanudo 12922]

2 hours ago, South Austin said:

And I say “high” as an assumption, because I don’t recall reading any reports of victims wearing bathing suits or other attire suggesting they drowned during some kind of recreational lake activity.

How sure are we that these guys weren't just night putting over at Butler Pitch and Putt?

[Nicole44 22023]

1 hour ago, HenryJames said:

This seems like overkill to get someone's cash/credit cards when you could just pick their pocket. Were any of the victims robbed? 

I think Julio Santos may have been (2015 but his death may or may not be linked.) there have been rumors of men being drugged and robbed (not killed) on Rainey Street. 
 

With Christian Pugh (man who was found alive but with life altering and incapacitating injuries) there was no activity on his bank cards. Christian’s father said in recent articles: 

“The last charge on his card, Christopher said, was at Clive Bar on the corner of Davis Street and Rainey Street. However, surveillance video that police reviewed, according to Christopher, showed Christian dancing at Container Bar next door. Another piece of video showed his friends waiting outside for him – but he never came out.”

With Martin I think that the last charge on his bank card was at Lustre Pearl and he bought only one drink according to friends and his bank records. The group went to the Alibi bar after and Martin was refused service for behaving in a strange manner/intoxicated even though no drugs were found in his toxicology report. 

Jason John whose body was found on 2/14/23—his death was ruled accidental drowning and haven’t heard of any toxicology reports on him. Haven’t heard about any theft. He’d been on Rainey Street with friends and was last seen walking in the direction of the trail along the lake. 

Other than Jonathan Honey’s body being  found 4/1/23 after being out at Rainey Street and last being seen at a taco truck there is no information. Waiting on the autopsy and  COD but toxicology might take a while. 
 

So unless these guys had cash on them and that was what was taken from them or if there was jewelry taken (have only heard rumors of a necklace or a ring possibly missing from at least one man) then robbery wasn’t a motive for this killer if there is a killer. 

[Deej 76510]

Rainey Street. Clive Bar.

So no evidence they were hit by a car, knocking them into the lake?

 

 

[JesusSweatDuck 17780]

Are we sure TxTow is still in jail?

[Herbie Hancock 7302]

Succinylcholine has an incredibly short half life, like a few minutes and it's completely metabolized. It also possesses no amnestic features whatsoever, so the person you dosed with it is aware the entire time of what is going on until they suffocate because they stopped breathing because of the Succs. If they somehow don't die of hypoxia, they're gonna be pretty pissed off when it wears off. Furthermore, idk how many of you have ever tried to move a truly unconscious person, but I'm in top physical condition and it's not easy at all. Also, as mentioned above intramuscular administration is not a viable route for this medication.

[Bozo_Casanova 26232]

2 minutes ago, Herbie Hancock said:

Succinylcholine has an incredibly short half life, like a few minutes and it's completely metabolized. It also possesses no amnestic features whatsoever, so the person you dosed with it is aware the entire time of what is going on until they suffocate because they stopped breathing because of the Succs. 

[Nicole44 22023]

Still can’t find information on what bars Jason John and his friends went to on Rainey Street the night Jason went missing on 2/5/23. Could only find some quotes from his brother and mother. It appears many of the family members of the victims though are getting to know each other pretty well. That’s good for the changes they want the city and APD to make. 
 

“Jason was with his friends on Rainey Street and left at around 2:00 in the morning. His brother, Rinju John, said he’s seen on a surveillance camera a minute later.

"I'm learning more about people being drugged on Rainey Street and roofied and judging from the 10 minutes of video I have, that wasn't my brother walking down that road, there was something more that was effecting him," Rinju John said.”

According to Jason’s mother Elsie the businesses closest to Lady Bird Lake don’t have working cameras.

"There are a few people saying the camera is off. Why? You have a business. The camera needs to be on. You know there are some safety concerns. This is my son, I don't want it happening to somebody else. Every business needs to have their camera on," Elsie John said.

"The suspicion is he might have fallen into the Lady Bird Lake. There is a man named Christopher who says he's a homeless person who lives close to the water. He said he heard a noise, and he tried to help my son, and he was not able to help," Elsie John said.

[Nicole44 22023]

Sadly a lot of the younger women I know carry these around to bars or parties as a safety precaution (it acts as a hair scrunchie but unrolls to fit most drinking glasses)

 

 

[Deej 76510]

13 minutes ago, Herbie Hancock said:

Succinylcholine has an incredibly short half life, like a few minutes and it's completely metabolized. It also possesses no amnestic features whatsoever, so the person you dosed with it is aware the entire time of what is going on until they suffocate because they stopped breathing because of the Succs. If they somehow don't die of hypoxia, they're gonna be pretty pissed off when it wears off. Furthermore, idk how many of you have ever tried to move a truly unconscious person, but I'm in top physical condition and it's not easy at all. Also, as mentioned above intramuscular administration is not a viable route for this medication.

Hmmm...we are going to need a list of your alibis for the nights in question. 

Edited April 3, 2023 by Deej

[YGIFS 19449]

^

I know where they're finding them, any idea of patters of where they have entered the water?  I know that's hard to tell, but not impossible.  I'm thinking of where Waller Creek enters Town Lake, and then that other little inlet immediately west of the MACC.  Both those stretches are very dark and there are no cameras around.  You could easily wander west from the bars/hotels, through the alley, and very there's actually a sizable patch of green spaces (several, several acres) and trails where you could get into the water that way.  You're much more obscured from anyone being able to see you (victim or murderer) over there.  Of course the water is much more shallow so harder to drown unless you're drugged.  

Falling in farther down river, south of Cummings or East Avenue.  There's some shelf activity there, where you take 5 steps in and it drops to 8'+ almost instantly.  Trouble there though is there's a line of 4-5 condos and hotels with lotsa lights and lotsa cameras, so harder to remain unseen.  

Another wild card would be Bierce Street.  You wander down that alley, there's the massive Milago project but the backside is mainly just service/delivery areas.  It's pretty dark at night, as long as no resident on that side happened to be looking out and down, you can go pretty stealth.  But you go SW or West from that Bierce alley, it gets pretty dark fast, and again, another part of the river that gets deep fast.  

Two things the City of Austin can do right now:

1.  Check the bodies location against the current flow rate for the nights before or ask LCRA to do it.  Somebody has those records.  There are nights after heavy rains where that thing isn't exactly whitewater, but it can freakin' move.  Other nights.  You could drop your phone in the lake and it'll still be in the same place, dead calm. 

2.  I'm gonna bring this up at our next meeting but there's still money in the Waller Creek project.  Lots of it for walkways, infrastructure (even re-bar), and lighting.  They need to use some of it for lighting and cameras from the outflow tunnel, and all along those adjacent trails.  What the fuck is the point of "Beautiful, open spaces for people to enjoy the water and trails in the heart of downtown) if nobody wants to go down there anymore because of a serial killer?  

[Deej 76510]

5 minutes ago, YGIFS said:

What the fuck is the point...if nobody wants to go down there anymore because of a serial killer? 

We need more serial killers in town 

[Herbie Hancock 7302]

15 minutes ago, Deej said:

Hmmm...we are going to need a list of your alibis for the nights in question. 

Most likely at work (where I have an ample stock of succinylcholine, rocuronium, versed, and ketamine).

[Deej 76510]

Just now, Herbie Hancock said:

Most likely at work (where I have an ample stock of succinylcholine, rocuronium, versed, and ketamine).

[tx 3 putt 76158]

20 minutes ago, Nicole44 said:

Sadly a lot of the younger women I know carry these around to bars or parties as a safety precaution (it acts as a hair scrunchie but unrolls to fit most drinking glasses)

 

 

pics ?

[Nicole44 22023]

So this Tweeter has been interviewing a lot of the family members of the victims (is putting that all together for some kind of report) and now is down on Rainey Street walking around:

 

[YGIFS 19449]

3 minutes ago, Deej said:

We need more serial killers in town 

Austin, Texas:

Live Music & Dead Barhopper Capital of the World.  

Also, not to burden minimum wage workers, but I'm a bar owner down there...I'm telling my staff before you serve anyone a drink, demand one valid ID for every drink ordered.  They're technically supposed to do that anyway for TABC purposes.  If a group says one of their friends is still up the road, that's a bad sign.  Of course, maybe the killer is a bartender who says, "Well then scatter individually and look for him down by the water" and he follows down there "on break" when really the original missing guy was just taking a shit.  

[Orange&White 5516]

42 minutes ago, Nicole44 said:

"The suspicion is he might have fallen into the Lady Bird Lake. There is a man named Christopher who says he's a homeless person who lives close to the water. He said he heard a noise, and he tried to help my son, and he was not able to help," Elsie John said.

 

[Bevo 13493]

So you are saying that every guy who disappeared had an open tab with tons of charges on it? That could be a lead or a message from god telling us not to let people at the bar know when have an open tab.

[Pato del Muerto 52321]

Hmm

 

[BillyGoatHill 4276]

37 minutes ago, Deej said:

Hmmm...we are going to need a list of your alibis for the nights in question. 

 

21 minutes ago, Herbie Hancock said:

Most likely at work (where I have an ample stock of succinylcholine, rocuronium, versed, and ketamine).

 

20 minutes ago, Deej said:

Medic 17 ?? The one down on Town (Lady Bird/ SK ) Lake....? Hmmmmmm. I think you might be added to BL's list 😬

[crash_davis 23078]

What gets me is how do these dudes happen to find themselves by the lake in the first place? Is it a beacon for drunks? Are there lake sirens singing songs luring wayward drunks to drown in the semi clear, definitely pissed filled waters? 

[Pato del Muerto 52321]

What’s the bag limit on lake siren anyways?  10 lb test on a spinner reel be sufficient?

Edited April 3, 2023 by Pato del Muerto

[crash_davis 23078]

3 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

What’s the bag limit on lake siren anyways?  10 lb test on a spinner reel be sufficient?

I'd settle for a 3 bag limit if these were the catch.

 

Edited April 3, 2023 by crash_davis

[Deej 76510]

First video captured from the area last night...

 

[hookemATL 11596]

4 minutes ago, crash_davis said:

I'd settle for a 3 bag limit if these were the catch.

 

WE THOUGHT.  YOU WAS.  A TOAD.

[BillyGoatHill 4276]

1 hour ago, YGIFS said:

 

2.  I'm gonna bring this up at our next meeting but there's still money in the Waller Creek project.  Lots of it for walkways, infrastructure (even re-bar), and lighting.  They need to use some of it for lighting and cameras from the outflow tunnel, and all along those adjacent trails.  What the fuck is the point of "Beautiful, open spaces for people to enjoy the water and trails in the heart of downtown) if nobody wants to go down there anymore because of a serial killer?  

 

48 minutes ago, YGIFS said:

Austin, Texas:

Live Music & Dead Barhopper Capital of the World.  

Also, not to burden minimum wage workers, but I'm a bar owner down there...I'm telling my staff before you serve anyone a drink, demand one valid ID for every drink ordered.  They're technically supposed to do that anyway for TABC purposes.  If a group says one of their friends is still up the road, that's a bad sign.  Of course, maybe the killer is a bartender who says, "Well then scatter individually and look for him down by the water" and he follows down there "on break" when really the original missing guy was just taking a shit.  

"Open a bar they said, it'll be fun..." 

All these bodies bad for business, huh? 

 

[YGIFS 19449]

Was supposed to read "if I'm a bar owner", as in like a hypothetical.  

The two owner-operators I know on Rainey, I couldn't help it...asked 'em both what they thought of all this and I got

1.  Basically a "Fucking horrific mystery.  Senseless tragedies, bad for business, my staff is scared when they leave late at night."

2.  Other guy replied with "I haven't heard anything about that."

But somebody else brought up a good point about true crime/deputized homicide detectives.  Somebody's gonna go down there at night, sober, to see what the area is like at midnight in the dark for their podcast or to write up something for APD.  And they're gonna end up in the river, too.  

Edited April 3, 2023 by YGIFS

[Deej 76510]

9 minutes ago, YGIFS said:

But somebody else brought up a good point about true crime/deputized homicide detectives.  Somebody's gonna go down there at night, sober, to see what the area is like at midnight in the dark for their podcast or to write up something for APD.  And they're gonna end up in the river, too. 

It's ok, Nicole will wear her water wings.

[SaucyJack 3484]

"fucken 'ell, amateur hour"

 

[Grade of D as in David 13253]

16 minutes ago, YGIFS said:

Was supposed to read "if I'm a bar owner", as in like a hypothetical.  

The two owner-operators I know on Rainey, I couldn't help it...asked 'em both what they thought of all this and I got

1.  Basically a "Fucking horrific mystery.  Senseless tragedies, bad for business, my staff is scared when they leave late at night."

2.  Other guy replied with "I haven't heard anything about that."

But somebody else brought up a good point about true crime/deputized homicide detectives.  Somebody's gonna go down there at night, sober, to see what the area is like at midnight in the dark for their podcast or to write up something for APD.  And they're gonna end up in the river, too.  

I'm in for a surly manhunt 

[YGIFS 19449]

If we can manage with so many fucking bar districts in this town not to have  more drunk people fall off bridges, fall off highways, etc.---why so many falling into a river in one little area?  

I guess statistically speaking, there's more men of this age bracket down there so most victims will fit that description.  But all of them?  Seems odd.  No women, no Asian men, nobody 21yo or 61yo.  Depending on what's in town that week, there's actually a much more diverse demographic spread on Rainey than just a Saturday night of bros and hoes.  On a monthly basis, we attend a conference at convention center or downtown hotel.  And invariably after the on-site reception or dinner, the out of towners will head off to Rainey Street.  50 years old and shitfaced, 40% women, all races and creeds heading off to make trouble on a Tuesday night.  But just one type gets drowned?  

People really do get drunk and stumble into open water in the dark.  Unlike in Texas, I've been to a  dozen dive bars after fishing in Northern Wisconsin/the Youper/Minnesota where you cannot walk 500 feet without running into a Lake.  And everyone of those bars has a story about a patron who got fucked up and decided to walk back to his cabin or camp rather than drive at 11pm.  and he ended up dead in a lake.  And he was invariably between 30 to 70 and a white male.  But that's because that's all who fishes up there and goes out drinking afterward.  

Rainey Street does have much more demography differences.  Did anybody fall in and drown on Rainey between 2004-2014?  THere were still bars, and plenty of ways to go west instead of south into the water.  

 

[1978horn 880]

So how many people are we talking about?  I have looked, but haven't been able to find a number.  To me it looks between 3-15 depending on how far back you go.

[Samson's Wig 3168]

I was drugged in a downtown bar last August.  It was not on Rainey Street, and I obviously didn't drown.  My best guess is I was targeted for theft, but I was with a buddy and was never alone so they didn't get the opportunity to rob me.  He remembers me getting into my vehicle.  I had no memory of getting home, however, and my wife found me facedown and naked on the floor the next morning.  I had two drinks that night.  At the time, there were reports of a gang from San Antonio coming up and drugging guys to rob them.  I don't know what ever came of that or if it's connected to this potential serial killer.

I thought maybe I'd just become a serious lightweight, as I don't drink too often these days, and didn't go straight to the hospital.  When I still couldn't get out of bed and hadn't eaten for three days, I went then.  Whatever it was fucked me up so bad I'm still dealing with health issues stemming from that night, including a couple more trips to the emergency room. 

Be careful out there, friends. 

[RollLeft 5039]

[crash_davis 23078]

1 minute ago, RollLeft said:

dont' care, had sex.

[Nicole44 22023]

12 minutes ago, 1978horn said:

So how many people are we talking about?  I have looked, but haven't been able to find a number.  To me it looks between 3-15 depending on how far back you go.

As far as all the bodies (total) pulled from the lake: I have seen the number be around 30/35 from about 2005-2023.

I don’t know how many of those are homeless people (many articles list a body being pulled from the lake but don’t mention a name of the person.) It is a possibility that some of those are not accidental drownings. Some of the drownings are from recreational activities but those articles list the person and the activity (fell off boat or whatever.)
 

Those that fit the specific Rainey Street pattern of males going out with friends and go missing and wind up in the lake/or found like Christian Pugh (the only one I researched that was found alive but with life altering and incapacitating injuries): between 7-10 men (all dark hair between ages of 20-40.) there are a few more who were out downtown and were not on Rainey Street that also wound up in the lake drowned. I’d say between 7/8 fit a very specific Rainey Street pattern and 2/3 fit the physical appearance and age but weren’t on Rainey street but still wound up in the lake.

[LCHorn 2582]

8 minutes ago, crash_davis said:

dont' care, had sex.

 

Jesus, that's the best use case for the spoiler html I've seen this year. 

[crash_davis 23078]

5 minutes ago, Nicole44 said:

Those that fit the specific Rainey Street pattern of males going out with friends and go missing and wind up in the lake/or found like Christian Pugh (the only one I researched that was found alive but with life altering and incapacitating injuries): between 7-10 men (all dark hair between ages of 20-40.) there are a few more who were out downtown and were not on Rainey Street that also wound up in the lake drowned. I’d say between 7/8 fit a very specific Rainey Street pattern and 2/3 fit the physical appearance and age but weren’t on Rainey street but still wound up in the lake.

Latest victim is Jonathan Honey. If the pic on LinkedIn is the same Jonathan Honey, the dark haired theme continues.